The Danish Slaughterhouse
by IntraSule
Summary: At Mathias's insistent begging, the rest of the Nordic Five decide to go visit this "new, bigger, totally badass" mansion of his and spend some vacation there. But the stay might not be as pleasant as Mathias had let on... I don't own Hetalia or the characters used in this. Trigger warning: Rape.
1. Prologue

Prologue

Darkness engulfed the majority of the compact bedroom, with the only disturbance coming from the streak of light from the doorway as a tall, looming male figure stepped inside, disappearing as the man closed the door behind himself. Remembering every item's place in the room, he was able to move around the queen-sized bed and the small trunk at its end, grab the remote control from atop the bed and pull out the chair from the desk to lower himself onto the wooden seat without the use of the ceiling's light. The man pressed the remote control's power button to turn on the flat screen television to have some background noise to work to. Flipping the little desk lamp's switch to illuminate the desk, the man opened a drawer and sifted through its contents and pulled out a housing magazine.

The man placed the magazine, filled with slips of scribbled-on sticky notes jutting out of the pages, on the table and flipped through it until he almost reached its middle pages. The specific pages displayed a photo of a beautiful mansion among forest trees as well as provided a table of information for it, such as the space measurement, the amount of rooms, and, of course, the listing price. It was the same mansion that he visited that day to see for himself, and with a few calls to his boss and his accountant, it was the mansion he was going to snatch up immediately. It was too perfect to be passed up, especially for a man who felt too confine in his small apartment. The apartment would not do for his future plans; it was just too small and too populated. He had to moved as soon as humanly possible, and this mansion was the godsend of all godsends.

Tiredly pushing up the few strands of dirt-blonde hair that flopped down from the rest of the gravity-defying locks, the man grabbed a black marker and drew quick, sloppy circles around the mansion in the picture. He took out a bottle of beer, twisted the cap off, and leant back in his chair, lifting the bottle up in the air and watching the television's soft blue light silhouette against the bottle's shape .

"Let the games begin," he murmured with a celebratory smirk as he guzzled down the liquid delicacy.


	2. A Chill Up His Spine

"I can't wait to see this for myself!" Tino chimed giddily, the only one of the group bouncing excitedly in his seat.

"Yes, love, we know," Berwald replied, a bit of amusement hidden in his usual monotone drawl.

The four Nordic nations and Peter were clustered together in the Copenhagen Airport's terminal, waiting for their scheduled ride after a long and tiring flight in which Tino wouldn't shut up about the day ahead, Berwald wouldn't stop staring at Tino as if he really was interested in Tino's chatter instead of the nudity under his clothes, Peter wouldn't stop whining about the airplane's lack of milkshakes and kicking the seat in front of him, and Emil wouldn't stop blasting that damn rock music in his ears for two seconds to keep up a conversation with Lukas, let alone address him respectfully as "Big Brother". Now they sat on the cold, plastic benches, surrounded by the bustle of Danish civilians rushing to their destinations or flight, reconnecting with family and friends, or sitting around for their rides as well. The group had nothing to do, except for Emil, who _still_ had his ear buds jammed into his ears and was now bobbing his head and playing an air guitar, and Tino, who just had so much to talk about.

And why were they exactly in the wintry airport's building, waiting for a ride that was two hours late and counting, with Tino and Berwald's brat napping on Lukas's shoulder as if they were close friends (which couldn't be any farther from the truth)? All because the stupid Dane sent them a text message. Lukas fished his cellphone out of his pocket, tapped on the screen a few times to get to his messages, and reread it with an annoyed scowl.

"_Lukas, Emil, Tino, Berwald (and the brat, I guess) you guys would not believe it, but I gots me a MANSION! Its new, bigger, & totally badass! Its incredible, you guys gotta come & see it. No, you WILL come! & you will stay here! No's not an option! Luv, Mattie. :)__"_

And there were about fifty more texts of the same matter, absolutely begging the Nordics to come over as quickly as possible. Lukas sighed loudly, shut off his phone and slipped it back into his pants pocket. He pulled his knees up to his chest and hugged them, his toes hanging off the edge of the chair. _I chose the perfect time to wear freaking skinny jeans, _he silently scolded, shivering into his knees. Although he was used to cold climate after living in it for centuries, Lukas couldn't help his teeth-chattering, spine-quivering, and blood-freezing state that his body involuntarily came into. The worse thing about this was the fact that it was in the middle of spring in Denmark, and nothing's more confusing than having the body temperature _drop _during one of the _warmer_ seasons after a long winter one. What Lukas wouldn't give to just lie in his warm, comfortable bed underneath the thick, warm quilt, drinking a piping-hot mug of delicious, warm coffee and just be _warm._

"What a great way to start a vacation," Lukas muttered to himself sardonically.

"Aw, come now, Lukas! It isn't that bad!" Tino assured him, interrupting his own stream of thoughts and smiling at Lukas.

"In case you haven't noticed, Tino, we're stuck in a freezing airport, freezing our asses off waiting for an incompetent jerk who can't seem to tell time, and these stupid assholes can't seem to at least blast the stupid heat up for a couple of minutes so that their patrons won't become sitting icicles," Lukas ranted.

"Freezing? Lukas, it's spring, and it isn't cold in here," Tino stated, changing his puppy-like grin into a confused frown.

"What?" Lukas looked at Tino and finally noticed that Tino wasn't shivering at all. In fact, none of the others were visibly shivering; he was the only one freezing to death.

"Lukas, are you okay?" Berwald asked. "Are you sick?"

"No, I'm not sick," Lukas mumbled. He then sighed and added, "But it is strange, though; I was feeling fine up until we set foot in Copenhagen. Then, I don't know…"

"Well, look on the bright side, at least we're that closer to seeing Mathias's new mansion, and it's really nice for Mathias to let us stay there for our vacation!" Tino interjected as his trademark kind smile returned to his face.

"Yeah, because nothing's more fantastic than being forced to spend your vacation days in the house of a raging lunatic, since the dumbass lunatic won't let you have a choice in the matter and would most likely drag you there, himself." Lukas rolled his eyes and rubbed his arms to glean some heat.

"Aw, my little Norge, you know me so well!"

The elder Nordics jumped in their seats at the voice, with Tino the only one giving a high-pitched shriek and Peter waking up from Lukas's movement; Emil was still blissfully unaware of the situation as he was lost in his own musical world. They looked over their shoulders and there was the great "Scandinavian King" himself, wearing a huge, goofy grin as if he just heard one of the greatest jokes ever.

"Oh, hi Mathias!" Tino greeted him.

"'Sup, Tino?" Mathias replied, walking up to the group to give Tino and Berwald a hug. "Yo, Berry, how's it going?"

"Everything's fine," Berwald choked out as his neck was tightened in Mathias's hug. "And don't call me 'Berry' ."

"Is there any way that we can save the greetings and merriment for later? Because right now, my balls are going to fall off from the lack of heat in here," Lukas said as he stood up.

" Lack of heat?" Mathias repeated the phrase in confusion. He tilted his head to the side. "Lukas, man, I know that my country gets cold a lot, but damn, it's not Winter Wonderland in here or something, so why would they turn up the heat? Besides, it kinda feels nice in here."

"Well, in any case, let's just go, already." Lukas grabbed his suitcase and wheeled it away to the nearest exit. The others looked at each other in bemusement, shrugged, and followed suit, Berwald carrying the still-groggy Peter over his shoulder, Tino grabbing Peter's suitcase, and Mathias slapping Emil's shoulder to get his attention and get him moving.

The group stepped outside and waited for Mathias to bring his ride up to them. When he drove up in the vehicle to where they stood, everyone except Berwald gaped in shock, and then burst into a fit of sniggers.

Mathias rolled down his window and stuck his head out. "What is it that is so funny to you guys?"

"Mathias, a _minivan?_" Berwald said in disbelief, gesturing to the silver-painted minivan.

"What's wrong with it, Berry?"

"'Berwald,' and nothing's wrong if you're a soccer mom wannabe."

"Hey! Don't be making jokes at my expense! I had to get this piece of shit so your luggage can fit in one trip!" Mathias whined. He then smirked. "Besides, it's the new, spacious 2014 model if you guys haven't noticed, a gift from Ludwig himself!"

"Wow, look who's well ahead in the game!" Tino said. "But I can't help but wonder why Ludwig would give you such a model in a way early time."

"Uh, durr, because we're bros now, and he was cool enough to-"

"Hello, freezing nation over here? A freezing nation who'd like to get to some warmth ASAP before I die and my people will be left with no land?" Lukas interjected as he bounced on his toes.

"Fine, fine," Mathias rolled his eyes and raised his window. He pressed a button under the steering wheel to unlock the trunk. The group hurriedly dumped their luggage into the trunk and shuffled into the car, with Tino securing the seatbelt over the sleep-again Peter's torso and Berwald taking up the passenger seat at Mathias's whiny begging.

It hasn't even been five minutes since Mathias started the departure from the airport when Lukas groaned through chattering teeth, "Mathias, turn the heat up, already!"

"Norge, what's your problem?" Mathias said as he turned the dial to increase the heated air in the van.

That was a question Lukas wanted to know for himself. It was all strange to him; he shouldn't be freezing at all as a Scandinavian country who was pretty much born with anti-freeze in his blood, yet somehow he's the only one feeling like he's trapped in an iceberg, and during spring of all seasons. He wasn't sick, he knew for sure, otherwise Tino's maternal instincts would've kicked in a long time ago and Tino would've trapped Lukas in a cocoon of blankets and drowned him in all sorts of soups and medications. (It still creeps Lukas out how Tino was able to sense when a Nordic, or anyone else, really, is sick without any mention of it.) And even the van's heat wasn't able to help cease the chill in his body. Lukas pulled his knees up to his chest and hugged them again, resting his cheek on a knee to look out the window. He watched the scenery pass by, trying to distract himself from his rapidly decreasing body temperature by taking in the succession of antique shops, bakeries, small houses, and chic apartments.

"Hey, didn't you used to live in that apartment back there?" Lukas asked nonchalantly.

"What? Oh, yeah, I haven't even noticed it," Mathias replied. He rolled down the window to lean out of it and wave to the apartment building, causing the car to swerve a bit. "So long, sucker!" He hollered.

"Mathias, dammit! _Stop screwing around and roll up your damn window_!" Lukas kicked Mathias's armrest and shivered even harder after a gush of wind blew on him. He curled tighter into himself and ignored the heavy stares from the other Nordics, even Emil, who heard him shouting through his ear buds.

Mathias sat back down in his seat as he laughed at Lukas. "Dude, you need to _chill_, already!"

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm _chilled_ enough, thank you," Lukas spat. He then squinted his eyes in thought. "…You were just using a stupid pun, weren't you?"

"Heh, a little slow on the know, aren't we, my bro?"

"…Shut. Up. Immediately."

The rest of the trip went by in silence, and soon Tino fell asleep in the back row of seats with his arms wrapped around Peter. In the seat next to Lukas, Emil's head bobbed lazily. Lukas gave a small smile as Emil's eyes finally fluttered shut and a light snore escaped his lips. Feeling giddy, Lukas gave in to the growing temptation and reached over to Emil. He gently stroked Emil's cheek and tucked a lock of hair behind his ear, his grin widening when he notice that Emil's cheeks flushed pink and his lips tug up into a small, dreamy smile.

Mathias coughed something as he watched Lukas in the rearview mirror. "What was that?" Lukas asked him.

"Peeeeeeedoooooooo," Mathias drawled out slowly and loudly.

"Didn't I tell you to shut up?" Lukas snapped as he pulled away from Emil and curled up again. He went back to looking out of the window and noticed that the passing scenery became less buildings and businesses and more small houses and trees. Lots of trees. "Mathias, where is this mansion of yours, exactly?"

"Eh, just around the beginning of Copenhagen's forest, right in front of this beautiful large pond. I swear, Norge, you're going to love it! Y'too, Berry!"

"Berwald."

"Whatever."

Mathias's prediction was slightly true. It was true that Lukas and Berwald fell in love with the mansion and its surrounding area, and it showed in their captivated gasps as it came into view. The mansion was a two-story pale yellow house built on a low-rising hill and stretched back far into the forest, with a cottage-theme design to its structure. At the foot of the mansion's hill was a large, clear, sky-blue pond that reflected the sunlight in an amazing spectacle of diamond-like illumination. The pond was surrounded by an array of flowers, most of them Lukas recognized as morning glories, chamomiles, lilies, and impatiens. The dirt trail they drove on turned into a trail of mixed smooth multicolored pebbles as it shot parallel to the pond's side and became a set of stairs as it climbed up the hillside to the mansion's doorstep. On the side of the mansion was a marble balcony, which-despite being made of a pale blue marble and of a French fashion- went perfectly well with the rest of the mansion. It was all mesmerizing.

The problem was that as the landscape came into view, Lukas's body temperature dropped immensely. As Mathias rode along the trail and swerved the van into a park in the damp forest grass next to it, Lukas was wringing the blood out of his legs as he hugged them tighter and tighter. His whole body was a spastic mess, and he had to clamp his jaw shut so that his teeth wouldn't gnash into fine enamel powder.

"Okay, everyone, we're here! Wake up now and get the hell out of this van!" Mathias yelled jokingly over his shoulder. "Please don't be afraid to step on the grass as you get out, because it'll just die soon, anyway!"

Tino and Peter stirred awake from Mathias's booming voice and started to yawn and stretch. They slowly clambered out of the van and looked around the forest with sleepy eyes . When those eyes landed on Mathias's mansion, their eyes widened and shone with the same captivation that Lukas felt.

"Holy crap, Uncle Mathias! It's so- wow!" Peter exclaimed.

"Yes, Mathias, it's so beautiful and breathtaking, and…my goodness," Tino breathed, placing a hand on his chest in astonishment. "You've definitely made a big move!"

"It's nice…" Berwald simply stated.

Mathias crossed his arms and smirked as he basked in the compliments. "See, I knew you guys would like it. What about you, Lukas and Emil?" He frowned when no reply from the two came. "Emil? Lukas?" He looked inside the van to find Emil still asleep in his seat. He smiled and shook his head. "Dude, get your ass up, already!" He snatched an ear bud out of Emil's ear and was startled to hear an ear-splitting "I HATE EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU!" blast from it.

Emil stirred in his sleep and cracked open an eye to Mathias. "What are you doing?" He yawned as he rubbed his eyes.

Mathias looked down at the ear bud in his hand and back up at Emil. "I was waking you up because we're here." He looked back down at the ear bud still vibrating in his palm with the singer still roaring his love-hate lyrics. "How can you sleep with this pounding in your ear?"

Emil said as he snatched the ear bud back, "I just do." He stepped out of the van and found himself captured by the beauty of the mansion, too. "…Oh, my goodness," he gasped. His eyes glistened in what were almost tears.

Mathias chuckled and went back to getting his last passenger, but when he looked at Lukas, his face fell into a concerned frown. "Lukas, hey, are you okay?" He asked as he reached for the silently trembling body. He reeled his hand back when Lukas's head shot up from his knees.

"I'm fine," Lukas groaned through gritted teeth. He fought the shivers running along his spine as he climbed out of the van and went straight to the trunk. "Can you unlock this damn thing, please?"

Mathias reached for the steering wheel and pressed a button underneath it. The trunk popped open and Lukas lifted the door to drag out his suitcase and make his way to the stairs. Like at the airport, the others followed Lukas's actions and wheeled their luggage up the stairs behind him while at the same time taking in the mansion's exterior. Lukas's body was slowing down with every step he took to the ebony double-doors, as if his very limbs were actually freezing in place. It wasn't until he collapsed at the doorstep, his heart feeling as if it was filling up with icy water, that he allowed himself to consider that maybe there was something wrong with him. He was still awake, but his body wouldn't move, and his mind was dizzy as if it was being tugged back and forth. He was fully aware of Mathias shouting his name and picking him up. Someone- most likely Tino- rushed up to take Mathias's key and opened the doors for them all. Lukas was aware that, even though it wasn't coming from his mind, his mouth was stuttering, "Y-you can't, y-you c-c-can't! It's not safe, it's not s-s-s-safe!" Mathias stepped inside the house with Lukas panting and quivering heavily in his arms.

In that instant, Lukas felt some strange phenomenon take place in his psyche. As Mathias stepped into the door, some force pushed itself into Lukas's sense of fear, spinning it wildly, squeezing it tightly, and stretching it to its limit. He gasped deeply and clenched Mathias's shirt, and in the same time that his gasp ended, so did the mind-ravaging, and surprisingly, the cold.

"L-Lukas? Are you okay?" Tino asked him as everyone huddled around him, eying him warily.

Lukas nodded, but felt something wrong within him. He should've been relieved that the body chills had ended and that the mansion's warmth had settled inside him and calmed his tremors, but the emptiness in the chill's place felt like abandonment, like the cold lost hope and gave up wrecking Lukas's body for _Lukas's _sake_. _

It should've been a healing comfort, but it made him feel like the end was coming.


	3. Room Assignment

Lukas sat up stiff against Mathias's chest, staring into space as he curled his fingers into Mathias's sweater. His own chest was sore from exhaustion as it heaved and deflated with every large amount of air he gulped. _What was that? _He thought anxiously. When his heartbeat had slowed back to its normal pace, Lukas noticed that the other Nordics were surrounding him and watching him with caution and confusion, waiting to make any moves in case another weird attack like that happened again and trying to figure out what was that attack to begin with. The waiting silence was uncomfortable.

"Norge, are you okay?" Mathias asked the still man in his arms.

Sighing a calming breath, Lukas tapped Mathias's shoulder and said in a dizzy tone, "Put me down."

"Uh, are you sure that's a good idea, Norge? I mean, I don't think it's a good idea-"

"I'm fine, Mathias. Now let me go so that I can get my bag."

"…Alright, if you insist," Mathias shrugged. He let Lukas stand on his own feet but kept hands up protectively around him in case his legs were too weak to use.

Lukas slapped his hands away. "I'm fine, Mathias, okay? Excuse me." He nudged Mathias out of the way and went to the doors to get his suitcase. He wheeled it inside and stopped as he felt his friends' continuous stare weigh down on him. "Guys, stop it. I was…I was just cold, okay? So stop staring at me."

"But…what was that?" Tino wondered aloud for them all. "What you were saying about it being too dangerous and such?"

"Heh heh, probably Norge's dumb 'fairies' messing with his mind again," Mathias laughed. He crossed his eyes, bared his teeth in a wide, goofy grin, and made circles around his temples as he chirped "Coo-coo, coo-coo, coo-coo!"

Annoyed at the mockery yet relieved that Mathias defused the apprehension, Lukas reached up to one of Mathias's nipples and twisted it hard, smirking inwardly as Mathias winced and yelped in pain. "It wasn't my fairies, idiot; I had them stay home to watch my house and plants."

Then he sensed that the silence shifted to a different mood, one of the awkward type. Tino, Berwald, Peter, and Emil were looking away, trying not to laugh or show embarrassment at Lukas's belief in magical creatures. Mathias was the only one chuckling.

"So, Lukas, what kind of, um, 'plants' do your 'fairies' watch, hm?" Mathias snickered and made air quotes.

"I have tulips and daffodils, you know that, Mathias. You saw them every time you visited me."

"Are you sure those are the only 'plants' you're growing? And you only use those 'plants' to pretty up your house? Hmmm? Hint hint!"

Lukas's eyes squinted. "Just what the hell are you doing now?"

"Nothing, I'm just saying that you don't have to keep it a secret from us! Wink wink!"

"Mathias, you're really starting to piss me off, more so than usual." He turned his glare to Emil, who was covering his mouth with his hand to stifle his giggles.

Mathias feigned a gasp of shock. "Uh oh, Lukas is getting pissed at me! I guess it's time you called up your little fairy friends and make them deliver some of your 'plants' here so you can mellow ou- ow, ow, _ow!_"

Lukas twisted Mathias's nipples again, this time snapping it to be sure that it left a bruise. "Just show us around this damn place so we can unpack, already!" He ordered as a blush crept up to his cheeks.

Mathias pouted as he rubbed his sore nipple. He then beamed and stepped back from the group further into the house. With a flourish of his arms, he announced proudly, "Welcome, one and all, to the beautiful, spacious, superb, and roomy-"

" 'Roomy' and 'spacious' are the same thing," Peter pointed out.

"Shut it, kid, I'm talkin'!" Mathias hissed. He ignored the little tongue sticking out at him and continued. "Welcome to the Mathias Kohler's Mansion of Prestige Excellence-"

"That sounds more like a school than a mansion," Berwald muttered.

"Then what the _hell _would _you _call it?"

"…Mathias's mansion."

Mathias rolled his eyes and groaned. "Ugh, you guys are no fun whatsoever! Fine! Welcome to _my mansion, _ladies and gentlemen!" He smiled again and clapped his hands. "Now, if you guys would so kindly as to collect your suitcases you left out there in the recent scare we had just experienced-" he sneaked a quick glance at Lukas, who still caught him and glared back- "so that we can get started with the tour, just in case any of you see a room that you wanna call dibs on." He winked and turned away. "Now follow meeeeee!"

"Oh, this is so exciting!" Tino squealed as he made his way to the suitcases lying about on the pebbled stairs.

Once everyone retrieved their bags, Mathias escorted his company throughout his mansion. He walked down the entrance hallway-its wall covered with large photos of Mathias sticking out his tongue or drinking a mug of beer, Lukas noticed- and into the white-walled living room. "Here, as you can see for yourself, is the living room. Over there is the flat-screen TV, the couch, and the computer. Around here, you can see the lovely vases Francis made for me to give this room some pizzazz. At the far corner, you'll see my magnificent collection of army knives in that glass shelf. If you break or ruin anything in here, brat, then I'll hold your parents responsible! Now, let us continue…"

The Nordics walked up the stairs and Mathias opened up the first door. "Here we have the first bedroom, with it its maroon-colored walls, shag carpet, and a full-sized bed complete with a moon-patterned comforter and feather pillows for those with weak necks. There's a full-length mirror over there, and a basketball hoop up there above the bed."

"Wow, this room is really cool! I call it!" Emil exclaimed, gazing especially at the dream-catcher light hanging from the ceiling.

"And we have our first taker! Now, please leave your suitcase here to mark your territory and we'll be moving on!"

"Hey, no fair! You didn't give anyone a fair chance to claim it, you jerk!" Peter whined.

"First of all, it was fair because no one else spoke up, so I did," Emil stated. "You had plenty of time, but you didn't use it, which brings me to my next point: tough luck, kiddo." He flicked Peter's nose as he pulled his suitcase into the room and hoisted it onto the bed.

"Now if any of you ever come by here and have the sudden need to bathe or take a dump, then the bathroom's across the hall," Mathias informed them. "And next to Emil's room we have this bedroom right here!" He opened the next bedroom's door, and Tino immediately gasped. "I see we already have another claim! And a good coincidence, too, because this one has a king-sized _vibrating_ mattress for nice, relaxing massages or what have ya." Mathias wiggled his eyebrows playfully.

"Er- well, I, uh, I wasn't thinking so much of _that _as much as I, er, was thinking about the décor here," Tino stammered as he and Berwald took their suitcases into the bedroom. "Like the forest green paint with leaves design on the walls! And is that a real tree over there? That's so magnificent! Oh, and this!" He stroked the pine tree embroidery on the comforter, and pulled the comforter back to see the white satin sheets. He stroked that as well, enjoying the silky material.

Berwald wrapped his arms around Tino's waist and nuzzled his nose into Tino's hair. "But it's still good enough for some one-on-one playtime for us, right?" Berwald purred into the blonde softness, ignoring the gagging sounds Emil and Lukas were making at the doorway.

"B-Berwald, please! Not in front of Peter!" Tino tried to shove Berwald away, blushing heavily. "I swear, you're just as perverted as your brother!"

"But Papa's right, isn't he, Mama?" Peter asked as he ran up to the couple, his own suitcase in tow behind him. "This room is so cool! It's so big and green and it has a vibrating bed, which is so awesome! It's like that episode of the Simpsons where Lisa and Bart used the motel's vibrating beds to race across the room; we can do that! And we get to play together all we want and-"

"Uh, Peter?" Mathias pulled Peter away from his parents and turned him to look at his face. "Sorry to break it to you, Pete, but the kind of 'play' your ma and pa want to do isn't exactly for the kiddies like yourself, so, yeah, you're not going to be staying with them and cock-blocking their entire vacation."

"Mathias!" Tino gasped.

"Well, don't look at me like that! Berwald says it all of the time!"

"Berwald!"

"It isn't true," Berwald refuted quickly.

"What's 'cock-blocking'?" Peter asked.

"Nothing," everyone but Mathias replied.

Tino knelt in front of Peter and held his shoulders. "Peter, listen, I'm sorry to say this, but as wrong as your Uncle Mathias and your papa are for what they said about you-"

"I didn't say-"

"There is some truth to it. We would like to have our own room and privacy, Peter, while you can have your own room and have as much playtime as you want without disturbing anyone." He then smiled gently. "Besides, you have your own room at home and don't complain about being in there alone, so it'll be just like staying home!"

Peter pouted. "But Mama, you know how I hate being by myself when we _travel_! And…and…" he trailed off when he saw that Tino wasn't giving in. He then sniffed and pleaded, "Well, can I at least stay with you guys for this night?"

"Well, seeing as how your papa and I aren't going to be doing anything tonight-"

"Cock-blocked!" Mathias quietly jeered at Berwald, who hissed back, "Shut. Up. Now!"

"As I was saying: yes, Peter, you can stay with us tonight."

Peter nodded in resignation. " 'Kay, Mama," he whispered.

"Well, now that that's settled," Mathias spoke up, "how's about we check out the next room, eh?" He pointed towards the door and half-skipped, half-jogged to it. "Follow meeeeeee!"

Peter took his suitcase in his hand and followed the other three nations to the door and went with them across the hall, pouting to himself that he didn't get what he completely wanted, which were to be able to play with Berwald and Tino during their stay, and to know what 'cock-blocking' was.

Mathias placed a hand on the door and paused. "Now, if I can remember the details of this room correctly, then I think that Peter just might like this one." He shrugged and opened the door.

Peter pushed pass the others at the mention of his name and entered the room with a deep gasp. He smiled with fascination as he slowly took in the ivory walls with ocean blue swirls and waves. On the ceiling was a mural of a pirate and his crew standing on the bow of a wooden ship, aiming a harpoon at a colossal and angry white whale amidst an ocean storm.

"Wow, is that from _The Tale of Moby Dick_?" Peter gasped. "My big brother Arthur read it to me all of the time!"

Mathias tilted his head and tapped his finger on his chin. "Hm, I guess so…"

Peter pouted again. "Don't tell me you never got to read such a great sto- Oh, wow, the bed!" He gawked at the bed excitedly. It was a full-sized bed covered by a black quilt with a skull and crossed-bones design on it. The mattress was boxed in by wooden boards stacked vertically side-by-side. Two pirate swords were nailed to the headboard, the blades crossed like the bones behind the skull embroidery. Peter flopped backwards onto the bed and caused the neatly placed quilt and sheet to shift out of place. "It looks like an actual pirate ship! Mama, Papa, never mind what I asked, I'm gonna stay here tonight!"

"Um, I'm glad you like it, Peter," Tino said with uncertainty, "but is it really a fit atmosphere for a child?"

Mathias followed Tino's gaze to the graphic mural and the swords and grinned. "Aw, don't worry about it, Tino! There's worse stuff on TV than in this mural, and the swords are made of plastic."

"Aw!" Peter groaned.

"Sorry, little man, but I'm sure these lovely people would rather not spend their vacation time getting killed by a sword-wielding lunatic on a sugar high."

Lukas felt a shiver course through his spine. _Must be the last bit of the chills inside me, _he concluded dismissively. He cleared his throat loudly and asked, "So, is my room the last stop?"

"Aw, as impatient as my little Norge is known for!" Mathias cooed as he tapped Lukas's nose with the tip of his finger. "Okay, follow meeeeeeee!"

"Ugh, stop doing that!" Emil grumbled.

"As master of this household, I am allowed to do whatever I want!" Mathias stuck his tongue out at Emil, who in turned flipped him off. Mathias led the group to what he announced was "Norge's Super-Fantastical, Extra-Magical" bedroom. He pushed the door open with a flourish, making "Oh! Ah!" sounds as Lukas stepped into the room with an awestruck gaze. The walls were a soft, pastel blue with small, cotton-like splotches all over. The queen-sized bed had a floral patterned quilt and a small, wooden trunk at the end. In one corner was a potted bush of fresh, yellow roses. On the ceiling was a mural of purple vines with royal blue and scarlet blossoms.

Lukas padded across the soft white carpet to the bed and positioned the suitcase next to him as he lowered himself onto the edge, murmuring "wow" repeatedly as his eyes scanned the room. He felt so at peace in this room, so calm, as if he was in a dream and was flying high into the sky and floating among clouds. He smiled softly as he lied back on his bed, sniffing the light scent of the yellow roses that filled the air. He moved his arms up and down at his sides, feeling the quilt with the back of his hands. He closed his eyes. _Egyptian cotton, wow…_

It was until Lukas felt something wet press against his mouth that he remained in the euphoria. When he opened his eyes, Lukas found his lips trapped in Mathias's mouth, being sloppily sucked on by the nation straddling his hips. He pushed against Mathias's chest until the larger man decided to stop teasing him and roll off of him.

"Sorry- I didn't- know another way- to wake you," Mathias panted.

"_Wake me?_" Lukas repeated.

"Yeah, you were out for like two minutes!" Mathias laughed so hard that tears were forming at the corner of his eyes.

Lukas blushed and looked away sheepishly. He hated how Mathias would just jump at every opportunity to touch Lukas, and worse, in front of the others. He coughed and mumbled, "So, you had these rooms specially designed for us, didn't you?"

Mathias grinned softly. "Nothing but the best for my Norwegian kitten," Mathias purred as he placed a kiss on Lukas's neck. Berwald and Tino averted their eyes and Peter made a disgusted face.

"…Yeah, if we're going to go into this whole maudlin romantic sickness, then I'm just gonna go back to listening to my songs," Emil said, reinserting his ear buds and playing the music on the highest volume possible.

* * *

By nightfall, the Nordics finished the tour of the mansion and unpacking their suitcases. They were now sitting around the big, glossy table, ready to enjoy the banquet Tino prepared for them at Berwald's protest, who wanted his husband to start his vacation by relaxing, not busying himself in the kitchen. Tino served everyone wine, except for Peter, who had a cup of sparkling grape juice, and Mathias, who poured himself a huge mug of beer. Lukas immediately replaced Emil's glass of wine with the grape juice when Emil wasn't looking, and they all lifted up their glasses when Mathias stood up to make a toast.

"Huh, I'm not really good at this sort of thing," Mathias began, scratching the back of his head sheepishly, "so I'm going to try my best and make it short, eh heh heh." He cleared his throat. "I guess I just want to say that I'm glad that you guys all decided to come see my awesome new mansion and that you guys loved it, which I knew you would, so it wasn't so much of a surprise to me. But I'm even more glad that you guys are going to stay here for awhile. It- ah- it feels kinda nice…you know, to…have the gang back together…" He trailed off and sat back down quickly, looking down at his beer to avoid everyone's gaze. When he looked back up, he grinned and said, "Well, what's everyone so stiff and quiet for? Let's dig in before this stuff gets cold!"

The others looked at each other and shrugged, deciding to fill their empty stomachs. The food was passed around the table, and everyone's plates nearly overflowed with the Finnish food, and the sounds of utensils scraping against glass rang in the silence.

"Oh, hey!" Mathias suddenly called out with stuffed cheeks.

"Mathias, swallow first, speak second," Lukas told him.

Mathias nodded in compliance, swallowed, and continued. "I've been watching the news from Alfred's country, and-"

"Whoa, whoa, wait," Emil interjected. "You watch the news? From other countries?"

"Well, damn, Emil, don't think _too _highly of my intelligence and attention span, now!" Mathias scoffed sarcastically. "Yes, Icey, I watch the news, too, and this one I saw was straight from America. Apparently, some neo-Nazi terrorist shot up a Sikh worship temple in blind rage. Killed around fourteen people, I think."

"Oh, my goodness, that's horrible!" Tino exclaimed.

"It's also old," Emil added, sipping his grape juice and grimacing at the lack of alcoholic tart in it. "That happened last summer."

"Well, duh, Icey, I already know that! I heard it from Al himself when he told me he couldn't come over-"

"Wait, so you were going to invite Alfred here?" Lukas asked.

"Yeah, I tried to." Mathias looked down at his food glumly. "But you know, a lot of trouble and work at his country. That attack I mentioned, the reelection of President Obama, the failing economy, the new bills his Congress has been writing and debating over; the guy's been pretty busy. Which got me wondering about you little nations! So, what's been going on over at your countries?"

"If you were really watching international news, then you would've known how our countries are running," Emil mumbled.

"Oh, I have heard all about your little island's problem, Emil," Mathias sneered. "So, are you going all Emo on us because you're starting to regret letting a Feminist ruin your country?"

Emil paused, gripping his fork tighter. Then, in a calm voice straining to hide his anger, he said, "First of all, _Mathias_, there is _nothing _wrong with the movement or its activists; they are helping to improve all of the world just as any other movement, okay? Second, my Prime Minister is doing a _fine _job leading my country despite the European economic crash, because crime rates have gone down and everything! Heck, my country was listed as the number one place for egalitarian citizens, while yours was placed at, what, four? Third, I'm not freaking Emo! Where the heck did that even come from? And what is so funny?"

Mathias was chuckling behind his hand. He then replied, "You! You're funny! I mean, wow, Emil, is it so hard for you to wait a couple of days until you start preaching on your soapbox?" He laughed louder as Emil's glare hardened.

"Mathias," Berwald murmured warningly, "Don't forget about the volcanoes…"

"Aw, I'm just poking fun at him, is all!" Mathias said. "Geez, Emil, you Feminists have no sense of humor whatsoever!"

"I'm not a Feminist; I can't take my own political views, or did you forget that as nations we can't take make our own political stance because we are to follow our leaders' views?"

Mathias waved away Emil's snide comment. "Yeah, yeah, I know, I know. I'm just curious, all right? I simply wanted to know what's been going on in my buddies' countries. Is that a cause for so much grief?" He gave Emil a wounded pout, quivering his lower lip to add to the effect.

Emil rolled his eyes and made an irritated grunt. He then decided that since it would be too idiotic to expect anything more mature than stupid jokes from the Dane, he was going to humor Mathias a bit and talk about his country's plans of lowering hotel rates to attract more tourists and get more revenue in. Peter chimed in with a suggestion that Emil build a pirate-themed amusement park and frowned when everyone chuckled at his suggestion. Soon, the entire table buzzed with conversation as the guests shared their own stories of national turmoil as well as prosperity, with Lukas the only one silently contemplating how strange it was that Mathias took in this new interest in political, economical, and even ecological currents.

"So much for getting away from the politics," Lukas said quietly to his glass of wine.

* * *

Chapter 2: Room Assignment, also known as the chapter in which the author plays Interior Designer and Dirty Comedienne by devoting a chapter to giving each guest their own special room and squeezing in as much inappropriate jokes and comments as possible. Sorry about that. -_-"


	4. Achilles

…_Emil then pressed himself against Lukas's body, burying his face into Lukas's shoulder and tightening his arms around Lukas's hips. Normally, this exchange of affection would've been a strange- albeit welcomed- act to Lukas, who couldn't even get the younger boy to call him "Big Brother" as often as he would like, let alone get a hug from him. But under the circumstances they were in, it was completely understandable._

_Lukas returned the embrace, stroking the Emil's silvery locks as Emil's body quivered with sobs…_

Lukas slowly stirred within the soft folds of his sheets, nestling deeper inside the warm softness as he begged his tired mind to return to sleep. He was suffering a pounding headache- no, a hellish hangover- after a night of drunk foolishness.

After Tino served everyone dinner, Mathias thought that the appropriate amount of wine they had while they ate didn't have enough alcohol for their bodies, and he disappeared into the wine cellar with a sly smirk. After leaving his guests to wait impatiently for a half hour, he reemerged with a big wooden crate over his shoulders. In the crate were so many different types of liquor: beer (of course), vodka, rum, more wine, champagne, wine-coolers, Schnapps of many flavors, even more wine_, _whiskey, almost everything one could find in the shelves of the most expensive bars. The guests looked at the crates uneasily because they knew that it would turn out to be a bad idea, especially since it was Mathias's idea. Yet, as guests, they were compelled to keep their mouths shut, and since Tino was the type to not show discourtesy to a host, he was the first to pop open a bottle of whiskey and serve it to the adults.

It went downhill from there, with everyone swearing and passing out innuendos as if the younger nations weren't right there getting their innocence ripped to shred, Tino taking his shirt off and whipping it above his head wildly, Berwald slamming Tino against the dining room table and making out with him after seeing that little dance, and Mathias attempting to break wine and beer bottles over Emil's head. Even Lukas joined in on the fun as he tried to use Mathias as a strip pole and ground his body against him, slowly and sloppily taking off one article of clothing at a time. Someone started to play some music and that prompted a wild dance party, so wild that Lukas climbed on Mathias, sat on his shoulders, and then slipped off. He fell headfirst to the hardwood floor, and the impact cleared his mind enough to help him realize that he was going insane and lewd. Too lewd.

When he recovered from the blow, Lukas retired to his room and slumped into his bed, ready to fall asleep. Sleep didn't come, though, because a few minutes after Lukas left, Berwald followed Lukas upstairs with a giggly and sensually-suggestive Tino in his arms, and the deliciously-horrid sounds they made in the next room pulled Lukas out of his needed coma. Mathias was no help to the sleep-deprived nation either when he crept into Lukas's room- inspired by the honeymoon couple's affectionate display- to give Lukas a special gift growing and hardening in his pants-

Lukas flopped onto his stomach and pressed his face into the pillow in a half-attempt to suffocate himself. _Don't think about it, don't think about it, don't think about it, _Lukas chanted mentally. _It didn't happen if you don't think about it…_

Lukas heard the sheets shuffle next to him as the mattress's springs creaked. He turned his head slightly to free one eye from the pillow and glanced into the smug yet sleepy stare of his worse nightmare. He reburied his entire face into the pillow. "Oh, no…" he moaned. _Don'tthinkboutitdon'tthinkaboutitdon'tthinkaboutitdon'tthinkaboutit…_

"You weren't saying that all last night," Mathias purred. He scooted closer to Lukas's nude body and draped an arm over his back. " 'Morning, Norge." He whispered into Lukas's ear.

"That was because I was too drunk out of my mind to protect my virginity, or to properly cast a curse on you," Lukas grumbled into his pillow. "…And good morning to you, too."

Mathias sniggered as he kissed Lukas's shoulder. "I still can't believe that I was able to get you into bed just after one dinner."

"Did you not just hear me?!" Lukas shot back, propping himself up on his elbows to properly glare at Mathias. He ignored the intense throbbing in his skull. "I was drunk and you took advantage of that, you…fucking…urgh!"

Mathias reeled back his arm. "Geez, would it kill you to be a little grateful for last night?"

Lukas scoffed. "Yes, let me count my many blessings. Where should we start? Oh, I know, I'm so grateful that I got drunk out of my wit right and made a fool of myself in front of my little brother; I'm so happy that not only did I crash on my freaking head and almost gave myself a concussion, but that I stayed up all night to the grunts and moans of Scandinavian Geographic and couldn't get an ounce of proper sleep; I'm absolutely _ecstatic _that my body was used for your sexual pleasure and that we probably scarred my baby brother with whatever noises we were probably making, and the nightmare was just the delicious icing on the beautiful damn cake!"

"…Nightmare?" Mathias propped himself up backwards on his elbows.

"Yeah. I don't remember much, but I do remember this one part where Emil started to hug me tightly."

"That's a nightmare to you? I'd have thought that you would like something like that from Emil what with your 'big brother' fetish-"

"It is not a fucking fetish!" Lukas snarled through his teeth. "I just want him to show me the respect and love that brothers should!" He sighed and shook his head tiredly. "Plus, in my dream, Emil was crying like really hard. I mean, he was just weeping and shaking madly like something really terrified him."

"What happened? Did something try to hurt him?"

"Mathias, I just said that I don't remember what happened in my dream. Please learn to listen better."

"Hm, I'm sorry, kitten, did you say something?" Mathias said as he looked at his nails nonchalantly. He smirked when he noticed Lukas rolling his eyes in his peripheral vision.

"You're so stupid," Lukas complained. "But I do kinda feel that something _did_ happen in my dream that scared him. In fact, it felt like we both were in this perilous situation and we both were scared, but I just can't remember _what _it was we were scared of."

"Wow, that really does sound weird," Mathias remarked. "It's still got ya messed up?"

"I just woke up from the dream, Mathias, of course it's still got me shaken up."

"Oh, well, how about we chase those big, bad dreams away, eh? I know this really awesome thing we could do-"

"Damn it, Mathias, didn't that libido of yours burn out at all last night? Yeesh, such a pig…"

"Hey!" Mathias exclaimed indignantly. "First of all, it's a proven fact that a healthy couple makes love to each other at least four times a day-"

"You just made that up."

"_Second, _I wasn't even talking about that! I came up with this idea for what we all can do today while I watched you sleep last night!"

"_You watched me sleep? _Crap, Mathias, how creepy can you get?" Lukas grimaced as a dark, Ivan-like leer crept on Mathias's face before it disappeared. _Very creepy, apparently._

"Yeah, I watch you sleep, and it's kinda fun, too! You're just so sweet while you're out cold, especially when you have sweet dreams. Then you'd get all smiley and blushing and try to cuddle up with the warmest living thing next to you!"

Lukas gave Mathias's arm a sharp pinch. "Okay, enough of that. What is this big idea of yours?"

"It's simple really: I thought that maybe we can have a race!"

"…A race?"

"Yeah, it'll be a cool bonding thing for us! It'll be like old times whenever we didn't have any countries to pillage and were bored out of our minds! Heh, I wonder if Berry is still faster than you are."

"A race? Mathias, this isn't a resort, okay? So please don't make up these weird, retirement-home, party-cruise activities. And do you honestly believe that racing against each other would be a good idea after our binge drinking most of us are still trying to recover from?"

"But it's male bonding! With my Nordic bros!" Mathias whined, poking his bottom lip out and widening his eyes to sway Lukas.

Lukas didn't fall for it. "Mathias, please, I don't think I can even to get out of bed, let alone go for a foot race. Besides, where are we going to have this race? In the forest?" When Mathias didn't answer, Lukas shook his head and moved his arms from under his body so that his torso fell back onto the bed again. "I'm not going to run around in some cold, wet forest," he yawned and buried his face into the pillows again.

For a few moments, Mathias watched Lukas, feeling disappointed that Lukas wouldn't agree to the idea. He then noticed how Lukas's pale skin seemed to illuminate like white gold in the sun's radiance and how delicate and smooth the grooves and lines of his back were.

"Y'know, maybe we could stay in bed for a little while longer," Mathias said in a dazed tone as his eyes lingered on Lukas's body. "I mean, that long trip yesterday probably tired you out and all."

"Yeah, it did. Thanks- hey!" Lukas looked over his shoulder and found Mathias tracing his spine with a long, tickling finger. He shivered at the finger's cold, gentle touch. "What on earth are you doing?!"

"It isn't healthy to just lie around all day, so we might as well bring some action into the bed with us," Mathias beamed mischievously. He then climbed on Lukas's back and straddled him. "So, how would you like me to do this, huh? Do you want last night's wild, mind-blowing, back-breaking fucking, or do you want to start things off with gentle love-making and _then _we get to the hardcore stuff?"

"Neither, Mathias, now get off."

"No."

"I'm serious."

"I know, and still no."

Lukas began to wiggle his hips under Mathias to wrestle him off. "Mathias, get off me right now."

"Mm, that feels nice," Mathias purred, unaffected by Lukas's movement. "Oh, and no."

"Mathias…"

"Yeah, my little kitten?"

"Off."

"No."

Lukas began to wiggle faster, causing the man above him to moan louder. "Mathias, cut it out! Get off!" He ordered frantically. He doesn't know why he's getting panicky; he and Mathias go through this ridiculous game every time they slept together, so what on earth is making him so frightened now?

Mathias chuckled and shuffled on Lukas so he could straddle his buttocks, leaning down afterwards to press his torso against Lukas's back. "Sorry, babe, but there's a little _issue _going on that needs to be taken care of," he whispered in Lukas's ear.

Lukas felt Mathias press his pelvis down further and gasped in surprise and disgust when he felt the throbbing hardness against his skin. "No, damn it!" Lukas hollered as he threw his head back against Mathias's face, which impelled Mathias to roll off Lukas. In retrospect, that was a good idea to avoid what could've been rape, but in that moment, Lukas regretted doing that and forgetting his hangover.

"Gahdammitsonovafuckingbitch!" Lukas shrieked through gritted teeth as he clutched his pounding head. Tears began to gather at the corners of his eyes and his body trembled in searing pain. His vision swam and made him feel dizzy and nauseous.

"Ow, dude!" Mathias shouted behind his hands. He clutched his bleeding nose and glared at Lukas. "That hurts!"

Lukas only glared back with as much fury as his weakened state would allow.

* * *

The day was drawing into the afternoon, and the sun had set high among the pine and oak trees, renewing the sleeping exuberance of animals and plants that thrived among the trees. All five Nordics and Peter were standing in a wide clearing surrounded by the dense forest, but two of the gathering weren't watching and commenting on the picturesque trees and tree-dwellers. Lukas had his arms crossed over his chest and his locked on Mathias in an impatient glare while Mathias scribbled something on a clipboard and pressed buttons on a stopwatch. The Nordics were clad in light clothing for the sprint, with short, black polyester shorts, durable running sneakers, and tee shirts designed to look like their respective flags.

After writing on his clipboard and looking over it, Mathias looked up at the group and smiled warmly. "Hello, everyone! I'm glad to see that you guys came outside with me today!"

"What're you talking about, Uncle Mathias?" Peter said, removing his attention from the wildlife. "You dragged us out of the dining room as soon as we finished eating breakfast and made us wear these stupid sportswear!"

Mathias looked at his interrupting nephew, smiling pleasantly to hide his irritation. "Well, if you have a problem with that, Petey, then you can just go back to the mansion and enjoy some video games or something. You won't be needed in this race, anyway."

"Race? We'll be having a race?" Tino asked. He looked down at his clothes. "Well, that would explain the outfits…" He didn't notice the way Emil stared at him before slapping his face into his hand or how Berwald smiled down at him with amusement.

"Yeah, we're having a race to see who's the fastest runner of the group," Lukas clarified for Tino. "Apparently, this is supposed to be 'Nordic Brothers Bonding Activity' because simply going out for a movie or something would just be too typical and tedious." He emphasized his sarcasm with an eye roll.

"Aw, a movie! That would've nice," Tino pouted. "I love the movies…"

"You only love the movies because you and your hubby could fuck each other in the dark theater room," Emil muttered crabbily. Lukas smiled at him sympathetically; he was probably kept up by them, too.

"Wait a second, why wouldn't _I _be needed in this race?" Peter wondered aloud.

"Because we already know you're the slowest of the bunch," Mathias stated as he casually glanced at the clipboard again, not really reading the content. "Kids are always slower than adults."

Peter scrunched up his reddening face. "How the hell would you know that if you've never seen me run?"

"Peter! Stop swearing!" Tino slapped Peter's shoulder.

"But Mama, Uncle Mathias is being a Danish jerk-off!" Peter whined back as he rubbed his shoulder.

"But does that constitute a need to swear like a sailor?"

Peter looked down at his feet. "…No."

"That's right, now go back to the mansion and stay in your room."

Peter's eyes shot back up in indignation. "But Mama, I wanna be in the race and show this prick he's wrong!"

"That's too bad for you, Peter, because you will respect my and your uncle's decision. Now, march!" He pointed at the direction of the mansion. Peter hung his head and turned to the mansion's direction, swiftly kicking Mathias's knee before sprinting away.

Standing still as if his knee wasn't just injured, Mathias smiled and groaned, "That's some good parenting, Tino."

Tino beamed proudly. "Why, thank you!"

Mathias nodded and looked at the entire group. "So, as my lovely Lukas has stated, we're gonna have an awesome race. The rules are pretty simple: run around the forest, don't trip over branches and roots, and try to get back here in little time. I'll be timing you guys with this doo-hickey and recording the time on the clipboard. The one who comes back the quickest wins, obviously, and because I'm such an ass who likes to keep people in suspense, I won't announce the times until everyone finished.

"Now, there's also a specific route to take, so I'll be marking the route with these." He crouched down and dug through a duffel bag that was next to his feet. He pulled out bright red flags with spiked ends and stuck one to the ground in front of him. "This one's the start and finish point. Use these to guide you, okay? Any questions?"

"I have one," Emil raised his hand. He then pointed at Mathias's face. "What's up with the tissue wads up your nose?"

Mathias crossed his eyes to look at his nose. Both nostrils were stuffed with bloodied wads of tissue. "Oh, this? This is nothing…" He replied with a pointed glared at Lukas.

"Really? Are you sure? Because it's leaking really badly. It looks like it's time for a changing-"

"Anyway, you guys stay here and I'll be right back. I'm gonna put these up around the track!" And with that, he left the other Nordics to put the flags into place as Tino started small prepping exercises like jogging in place while Berwald watched him and tried not to laugh.

When Mathias's back vanished into the trees, Emil turned to Lukas and said quietly to him, "Hey, Lukas?"

Lukas stared back at Emil, finally noticing the faint dark circles under his eyes. "Wow, you look beat! Are you okay?"

"Tch, so now you care about my sleep? Wish you were _this _considerate last night!" Emil crabbily glared and crossed his arms.

Lukas's eyes widened, but his mouth was still set in a still, unaffected line. _So, it was us, too…_

"Ugh, never mind that," Emil said. "I just have something to ask you."

"What?"

"What's up with Mathias's nose? Did you do something to him?"

Lukas stared into the trees contemplatively. "No, I didn't."

"You don't have to lie, Lukas, and besides, you can't; I heard you two this morning. You were shouting at him and the bed was creaking a bit and…" Emil leaned closer to Lukas, lowering his voice to a barely-audible whisper. "Lukas, please be honest with me. Was he trying to rape-"

"No!" Lukas hissed. "No, it wasn't like that at all! He was just…he was just being too…affectionate, and it crossed into asshole. That's all."

"Oh, well, okay, then," Emil said, but his eyes expressed his worry.

"Emil, it's okay, really," Lukas said with a small smile. It reassured Emil enough to drop the subject completely and pop in his ear buds.

Mathias returned twenty minutes later, the stopwatch swinging wildly around his neck as he jogged to the group and the nose plugs gone from his nostrtils. "So, who's first?"

"I'm guessing Tino," Berwald suggested. He smirked when Tino stuck his tongue out at him. "Well, why else would you be doing all of those exercises?"

"Yes, I would like to go first," Tino confirmed, scrunching his nose in annoyance at Berwald. He stepped next to the flag and knelt down into the starting position, with both hands in front of him and one leg slightly behind the other.

"Alright!" Mathias set the stopwatch. "On your marks!" Tino wiggled his back toes firmly into the grass. "Get set!" Tino raised his buttocks into the air. "Go!"

And Tino took off, determination and intense concentration hardening his facial features. He ran into the bend where the "track" made a turn and disappeared into the woods. In the quiet woods, the faint sounds of grass being crushed, twigs being broken, and animals being frightened by a potential charging predator rang out in the woods.

"Your husband sure likes to run, doesn't he?" Lukas asked Berwald.

Berwald smiled. "He does so every time he gets some time off. If I can say, I think that if he wasn't a nation with such inhuman strength and agility, and that if his boss allowed it, Tino would've ran for his Olympics team."

"I can see that," Lukas chuckled.

Soon, Tino reappeared around the bend on the other side, and when his foot stomped next to the flag, Mathias pressed a button on the stopwatch. His eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Wow, that was actually pretty good," he said to himself as he scribbled on the clipboard. "Who's up next?"

"I guess I can go, so I can get this over with," Berwald spoke up. He switched places with the panting and doubled-over Tino and copied Tino's starting position. His position was a bit sloppier than Tino's, with his hands and feet not as firmly planted or his body aligned correctly, but that didn't seem to matter when he ran on Mathias's calls. He sprinted into the trees, leaning his torso forward and pounding his feet heavily into the ground.

Mathias sniffed. "Feh, I bet he won't make a good time the way he's running slow!"

"Hey, don't say that about my husband!" Tino exclaimed when his breathing stabilized. He cupped his mouth and shouted into the forest, "Go, Berry, go! You can win!"

"It's _Berwald,_" Berwald shouted back within the forestry, causing a cloud of birds to rise out of the trees in fright. Mathias laughed and kept his eyes fixed on the stopwatch.

Berwald emerged from the woods and stopped at the versatile flag. Mathias scowled to himself as he took down Berwald's time. "Alright, who's next?"

Emil and Lukas looked at each other, beckoning to each other to go until Lukas resigned begrudgingly and stepped up to the flag. He leaned forward and placed on leg behind the other; he didn't want to put so much importance and effort into this ridiculous race, but he couldn't help that he was bouncing on his toes in anticipation.

"On your marks…Get set…Gobbleberry!"

Lukas started, but stopped abruptly, which caused him to trip and pitch forward into the ground. He looked over his shoulder at the grinning Dane as the others erupted in laughter. "Mathias…" he snarled as he stood up.

"Okay, okay!" Mathias sniggered. He waited for Lukas to reposition himself before shouting, "Go, Norge!"

Lukas took off with as much speed as he can gather, which was pretty decent in the others' eyes. He passed the first turn and came into the full throes of the trees. Everything flew by in a blur, yet everything still managed to slow down enough for Lukas to take in the beauty of the forest in its entirety. He loved the way the sun shone full view in some parts yet had to peek through small openings in the treetops in other parts. It was beautiful how the random spurts of flowers gave the forest subtle breaks in the repetitive -yet still magnificent- hues of green and brown. The cool air tickling Lukas's cheeks and sounds of squirrels and birds resonating in his ears were s peaceful. Lukas wanted to just stop and enjoy the scenery, but he remembered that he had a race to complete, so he pounded his feet faster into the ground.

It seemed that Lukas was running the route subconsciously because the next thing he new, he was coming up to the other Nordics without seeing any flags in his run. He slowed at the last flag and returned to the runners.

"Wow, Norge, you were pretty quick there," Mathias said as he recorded Lukas's time. "Heh, okay, and our final contestant: Emil Bondevik! Pleeease step up!"

Emil sighed and rolled his eyes. He walked up to the flag and just stood there with his arms hanging at his sides. He looked at Mathias impatiently. "…Well?"

"Uh, you're not gonna get into position?" Mathias asked.

"Why would I?"

"Well, you know, to get better velocity and force. I don't think you're going to get a good start wust by standing so straight."

"Dude, I don't even care about the race. Can you just start my time so I can go?" Emil pressed the play button on his iPod.

"Okay," Mathias shrugged. He looked at the stopwatch. "…Go! Whoa!" Mathias almost dropped his clipboard in surprise as Emil shot off in full speed.

Within ten seconds- where it almost took thirty seconds for the others- Emil was gone in the first bend, but that was just enough time for the other Nordics to capture what was like the snapshot of Emil's run. In this snapshot, Lukas, Tino, Berwald, and Mathias was able to see Emil's torso bent forward, his arms swinging methodically beside him. His slender legs rose up and shot down like jackhammers and his toes pounded firmly into the grass, not his heels, and sometimes not even the balls of his feet; he was sprinting forward on his toes as if he was floating. His flag-designed tee shirt bounced up and down on his abdomen, and his pale hair flew back from his face in airy wisps like feathers floating away in the wind.

Everyone gaped after him, eyes wide and minds blown.

"…Holy shit," Mathias breathed.

_My brother can run? _Lukas thought. _Wow, who would've thought…_

In what seemed like no time at all, Emil zoomed back into view of the elder Nordics. When he stopped at the flag and pulled out his ear buds, he was immediately barraged by compliments and praises as they gathered around him.

"Oh, my goodness, Emil, I never knew you were so speedy!' Tino chimed in admiration. "I mean, that was some quick running! How longs have you done it?"

"You are an incredible runner, Emil," Berwald said as he slapped Emil's shoulder.

"Seriously, Emil, how long have you been running, and do you have a special trainer or something?"

"Lillebror, that was…wow…" Lukas gasped. "That was superb!"

"Okay, one and all, back up, please!" Mathias called as he waved everyone away. "Since Ice is finished, we can get the results out and call the winner. Now let's see…" He skimmed the clipboard. "Okay, let's see what we have here:

"Tino, your time was four minutes and thirty-two point eight seconds. Berry-"

"Ber-_wald_."

"Ber-_wald, _you came up short at four minutes and forty-five point seven seconds. So close, but just not quite there! Lukas, you actually beat Tino with three minutes and fifty-eight point five seconds, and Emil blew you all away with a flat _two-friggin'-minutes! _Damn, man, what are you, the Flash?!" He frowned at Emil's simple shrug. "Well, in any case, now to present you with the prize!"

"Prize? There was a prize?" Tino asked. He now regretted not running faster when he heard about the prize.

"Wait, where on earth did you find the time to get a prize? And why? I thought this race was impromptu!"

"In due time, Norge. And yep, Tino; here it is!" Mathias dug in his shorts' pockets and pulled out what looked like a wad of leather. When he unfolded it, everyone rolled their eyes.

"A dog collar? That was the prize?" Berwald droned sardonically.

"Well, it's actually a human-sized _cat _collar, and it has this really cool tag on the front!" Mathias scratched the back of his neck. "I, uh, actually had it made for Lukas because I thought he was going to win- don't look at me like that, my Norwegian kitten!"

Emil shrugged again and took the collar and looked it over. He gasped at the tag. "Oh, cool, are these ice cubes made with real diamonds?!"

"Well, no. It would've be too expensive, so I just placed clear rhinestones in it instead."

"Sweet!" Emil fastened the collar around his neck and adjusted the size. "This kicks ass! I can't wait for Kaoru to see this!"

"You look fantastic, Emil!" Tino beamed.

"You really think so?"

"Yeah, as ridiculous as a collar is, it's still pretty nice," Berwald said.

Everyone was gathered around Emil, congratulating him on winning the collar and praising his amazing running skills as they headed back to the mansion.

Eveyrone except for Mathias, who had to stay behind to pick up the flags he placed. He packed up his stopwatch in the duffel bag and took another glance at the race results.

_So Emil's the fastest runner, huh? _Mathias smirked. _Well, this new piece of info will be very helpful…_


	5. Denmark Wrestling Entertainment

Okay, dudes, I have a serious Public Service Announcement (not really) that I want to share with you: One, thanks for the kind reviews and the faves and follows! I'm glad that this is getting off to a cool start; I'm still not all that confident in my suspense-writing skills, but I'm glad to see that I kept most of you on your toes! XD Two, I'm sorry for not updating this sooner. As soon as I found a way to write this chapter, both of my aunt's laptops were broken. Good news, though: NEW LAPTOP FOR CHRISTMAS! YEAH! More updating (if my laziness doesn't kick in again)! Now let's continue this bad boy! n_n

* * *

The rays of the early rising sun streamed through snow-white sheer curtains hanging from the window, filling the bedroom with a soul-soothing soft light. Using the sunlight for visibility, Lukas skimmed over the ancient Germanic writings of his thick, deer-hide bound magic book. He sat crossed-leg on the bed, thumbing through the book that he had nestled on his lap and pushing up his reading glasses. The book was well-bound and strong, preserved and protected by the magic within the paper and dark ink; it also held many important information on supernatural phenomenon, it the reliable guide for Lukas to read when he needed to. He needed the magic book now, to figure out what sort of paranormal being had "attacked" him when he entered Mathias's mansion. Whatever it was that made Lukas's body freeze to the point of Arctic temperatures, it was something alive, and Lukas needed to know what that thing was so that he'd know whether it was a benevolent being he could trust or a malevolent one that he needed to fight.

Even though he really didn't want to admit it because of his pride as a powerful spell caster and an ex-Viking, Lukas was actually a bit traumatized by what happened. The being that attacked him was gone, yes, but he still felt some ice course through his veins as he walked through out the mansion as if every step brought him deeper and deeper into the underworld, and it didn't help that he kept hearing faint noises-

_Clunk, clunk, shing, clunk, clunk..._

-like those noises, the same noises that have been resounding through the upstairs hallway before dawn broke. It wasn't a ghost haunting the mansion because Lukas didn't detect any poltergeist, nor was it some demon possessing the other Nordics because they were all acting in their normal- insane and perverted- behavior. Lukas yawned loudly and turned another page; doing research was really tiring, especially when one was reading a two thousand-paged book (with more pages magically added whenever a new spell is created or some new information was discovered) straight through the night. Wishing that the book had a table of contents or at least an index, and gaining an intense migraine from the annoying noise going on outside, Lukas let his eyes roam over the next page and stared blankly at the words while trying to fight off sleep. He rubbed his eyes fervently and ran his fingers through his hair.

_Ugh, this shit is so fucking pointless! _Lukas snapped mentally when the words in the book began to blur and the warm, soft quilt began calling to him strongly. Just when he slammed his book closed in frustration and defeat so he can get some much-needed rest, Lukas heard the clunks stop outside his door. His needed and cherished peace was disturbed as a looming giant man burst in through the bedroom door.

This man was wearing a prison jumpsuit, stained with blood and mud and what looked like pieces of organs; his head was wrapped in a dark-colored bandana, and on his face was a cracked and dusty mask, black paint on molded clay to make sneering eyes and a sadistic smile. This masked man wielded a dull, dirty machete, playfully twirling it in his hand as he slowly walked towards Lukas's bed, staring at the occupant with the intensity and interest of an eager predator. He looked at every curve and angle of Lukas's body, from the soft roundness of his knees as he kneeled on his bed to the circumference of his violet, vacant eyes as they stared back in fear.

_Is...is he _analyzing _me? _Lukas wondered in fear as he gaped back up at the giant, quivering and clutching the book close to his chest. His exhausted mind tried to catch up with his current predicament and force his body into action, but the way this man was just staring down at him through the eye slits of that creepy mask, tilting his head in taunting curiosity; Lukas could actually see the corner of the man's lips pull up in a smirk. Lukas felt his body quiver faster. _Oh, God, please don't let me die!_

"W-who are you?" Lukas stammered. "H-how did y-you get in here?!"

The man chuckled darkly, running his finger along the machete's blade and ignoring the blood the act drawn. He tilted his head side to side, as if enjoying a pleasant tune playing in his head. "So, Lukas," he cooed darkly, his voice coming out in a low, raspy whisper, "how do you prefer to die? Would you rather just lie there as I take you apart limb from limb, or would you like to die like a true Viking and try to fight for your life?" The masked man hummed thoughtfully to himself before chuckling. "Or, would you rather die as a kinky sort of guy and have your insides ruptured and bleed out as this blade rapes your rectum? I'm for any of those..."

"Y-you didn't answer my question...!"

"And you haven't answered mine, so I'm gonna choose for you," the man replied, raising the machete high above his head. "Option-"

Normally, Lukas would've fought back a threat like this masked killer by ripping open his book and reciting one spell after another to stop this predator's attack and maybe even kill him, but since his mind was still exhausted, it wasn't working as quickly or as properly as it should, trying its hardest to catch up with Lukas's fear-charged body. So it made Lukas do the first clear choice it came up with.

Lukas instinctively flung the hefty book of spells at the masked man.

A corner of the book pierced the man's mask, cracking it and making the man himself stumble back before falling. He landed on the floor with a heavy thud, and the machete flew out of his hand and barely missed Lukas's shoulder as it stuck into the mattress behind him. As the man landed on the floor, his head bounced painfully on the carpet, making the mask pop off his face.

"M-_Mathias_?!"

Mathias winced and yanked off the bandana on his head before rubbing his injured skull. "Morning, Lukas," he groaned.

"Mathias, _what the fucking hell?!_"

Mathias blinked and winced again. "What?"

"What the _fucking hell_ are you _doing_?!" Lukas gestured to Mathias's outfit, the mask, and the machete behind him.

As Mathias's head recovered from the injury, Mathias took in the objects Lukas gestured to and the entire situation before smirking. "I just thought that it might be cool to, oh, I don't know, spice up your morning."

"By coming in here like a fucking maniacal Mike Meyers-wannabe and swinging a dirty, _bloodied _machete at me?!"

Mathias shrugged nonchalantly. "Woke ya up, didn't it?"

Lukas simply gaped at him, not believing the new level of utter stupidity the Dane reached. Clenching his fists and trembling, Lukas breathed deeply through his nostrils for ten seconds to calm his building anger. He didn't want to start his morning with neither violence- punching Mathias's face in so deep that he wouldn't be able to smirk that trademark arrogant smirk of his ever again- nor with admittance that Mathias was right: his little prank did work; the dose of adrenaline from that fright did give him an energy boost, and he didn't feel the need to crawl into bed and make up for his sleep lost anymore. Once he was sure that every urge to kill Mathias was gone, Lukas reached behind him and gripped the machete's hilt, pulling the blade out of the mattress and holding it out to Mathias, making a subtle squeamish grimace at the weapon all the while.

Mathias snickered. "Dude, chill, the blood's not even human, okay?"

Lukas stared at him. "...So it's animal blood, then?"

"Well...yeah...?"

Lukas turned the machete around in his hand so that the end of its hilt pointed towards Mathias before chucking it at him. The hilt's end hit Mathias in his forehead and the weapon landed safely on his lap.

"Agh! Dammit, Lukas!" Mathias's hand flew up to the quickly purpling bruise forming on his forehead. "That really hurts! How many head injuries do you want me to suffer? Ouch!"

"Just enough to knock some sense into you and help you realize your stupidity," Lukas retorted. He slid off the bed and went to retrieve his book, ignoring the Dane's whimper of pain. He went to the antique trunk at the end of his bed and placed his book inside it.

Mathias tilted his head again as he watched Lukas. "You still have that old thing, Lukas?" he asked as he stood up.

"Of course I do," Lukas said. "No self-respecting magician would go anywhere without his or her book of spells, lest the magician is ready to give up the title and is ready to face any danger in the world without a spell at hand. It's pretty much an unspoken, mandatory rule."

"Pfft, you guys are such Potterheads!"

Lukas turned his intense glare towards Mathias and slammed the trunk's top shut. He then walked up to Mathias and flicked at the purple bruise.

"Ah...! Dude, I was just kidding..." Mathias groaned softly as he rubbed his bruise again. "Anyway, what were you doing with it? You're not gonna cast any spells on me, are you?"

"No, I was just looking up the symptoms for that bizarre episode I had when I first came here. So far, nothing."

"Oh," Mathias said. His eyes became vacant as his mind wandered to that scene in the entrance hall, before his attention returned a split second later. "Well, good, because I just had about enough of you transforming me into a rabbit!"

"Why are you here, Dane?" Lukas asked impatiently, crossing his arms and frowning.

"Oh! We need breakfast!"

"...And you couldn't make it yourself, I assume?"

"Aw, Norge! I just _love _how you can read me like an open book!"

"You do know that the phrase indicates that you have a low emotional IQ, not that I know you so well?"

"...What?"

Lukas sighed. "It's not a sign of love, you dunce, it's a sign of your inability to hide your emotions and thoughts; it means that you're too open without even realizing it." He received another confused stare. "_Anyway, _why don't _you_ make breakfast instead of expecting others to do it, especially the _guests?_"

"_Because, _I'm too busy planning today's Nordic-Bros-Bonding-Activity!" Mathias exclaimed jubilantly.

"Oh, no..."

"Oh, yeah! Now get downstairs, make me breakfast, bitch, and then get ready for a really kick-ass day!" Mathias pumped a fist in the air.

"Fine, whatever," Lukas huffed begrudgingly, "but after I take a shower." He began walking to his closet to retrieve his bathrobe but then he stopped when a thought occurred to him. He spun on his heels, stepped up to Mathias, and flicked his bruised forehead and slapped the back of his head, right where Mathias landed when he fell on the floor. "Don't call me a 'bitch'," he grumbled as Mathias gripped his head and crumpled to the floor in agonizing pain.

* * *

"Um, is anyone able to tell me what is going on?" Tino asked as he looked down at his attire.

After they had eaten breakfst, the five Nordics and Peter stood together in what appeared to be the private exercise room, the exercise equipment pushed far away to give the nations space, although it really wasn't necessary since the room was spacious enough; it was almost twice the size of Lukas's bedroom. They stood in the center where a mat was placed, scuffing their combat boots against the mat, tightening and loosening the Velcro on their kneepads, and tugging at their uncomfortably tight and itchy spandex shorts with the "World Wrestling Entertainment" logo on the back. The spandex didn't affect Mathias; he just stood there and beamed excitedly at his guests. Lukas was the exact opposite; as he pulled subtly at the clothing that was riding up into certain unpleasant areas, he glared directly at Mathias and wished he had memorized the spell for making targets combust right where they stood.

"Isn't it obvious, Mama?" Peter replied. "We're going to wrestle! It's so cool!"

"As the little guy said," Mathias confirmed, glaring at the child for stealing his opportunity, "we'll be wrestling today. Thought that it might be good for us if we let some macho-manly juices out of our systems. Y'know, let the Viking in us come back out!"

Emil slowly raised his hand. "Yeah, uh, problem, Mathias," Emil said. "Not every one of us were Vikings, if you forgot. In fact, only you, Berwald, and Lukas were Vikings, while Peter's a kid, I had little fighting experience, and Tino's just a wimp."

"Hey!" Tino glared at Emil.

"So how will this little wrestling thing you have for us be fair?" Emil continued.

"Simple, my good man!" Mathias replied. He paused for dramatic effect before saying, "You'll all be wrestling _me!"_

"What?!" The others yelled. They then began sounding their protests simultaneously.

Mathias put his palms up. "Hey, hey, guys! Chill! It isn't that bad, okay?"

"Mathias, it's _five _against _one,_" Lukas stated, "Even if two of us are too weak to fight out of a paper bag-"

"I better not be one of those two, Lukas!" Tino snapped, still pissed off at Emil's insult.

"...As I was saying, even if two of us aren't even close to being strong and probably wouldn't have a chance at hurting you, it's still too many opponents for one person."

"D'aw, it's so sweet how you are so loving towards me and concerned about my well-being!" Mathias squealed as he ruffled Lukas's hair. "But don't you worry, my sweet little Norwegian kitty-witty, none of this will involve my bones being broken or my limbs being ripped off my body."

"Too bad," Berwald muttered, earning a light chuckle from Peter and Emil.

Mathias shot a quick glare at his younger brother before continuing. "Our wrestling matches will work the same way that the race worked: each of you will be timed as soon as you step up and ready to go, and you have to try to beat each other's time. The difference is that there could be more than one outcome to this: you guys could beat me- in which then you'll have to beat each other's time- I could beat one of you, or heck, I could just beat all of you. As for the first outcome, if you guys manage to pin me to the ground and keep me pinned, then the timer will stop and that'll be your result. Whoever beats me in the least amount of time wins."

"And who's going to time us while we fight?" Lukas asked him. "I mean, how do we know we can trust each other to record the correct time result and not cheat to win?"

"Oh, the mat will do that for us!" Mathias's response was met with confused looks. Sighing, Mathias explained, "The mat is weight-sensitive and connected to a stopwatch, so when a body is held down long enough, the mat will register that as an official pin and stop the time." He crouched down- making the other Nordics groan in disgust and avert their eyes from the spandex-clenched loins that he was too oblivious of to hide- and patted the mat below them. "Yep, this baby here is unbiased. Totally legit and fair!"

"So...where is this special stopwatch it's connected to?" Emil asked. They all scanned the room to look for the tool, albeit only Mathias would know what it looks like.

"Damn, I forgot to set it up!" Mathias grumbled. He went to the room's closet and searched through it noisily. Once he found the stopwatch- which looked more like a large, widescreen alarm clock with a red switch and a couple of large buttons- he knelt beside the mat and pulled out cords from a hidden part of it and plugged them into the stopwatch. He flipped the red switch on the stopwatch, and large, bold green zeros appeared on the screen. He fiddled with the buttons, his face set in the most focused expression any of the Nordics have seen since his old days as a Viking where he would hunt and pillage with almost military strategy.

After he had set up the stopwatch, Mathias stood up and looked at his opponents. Smiling haughtily, he did a series of macho poses as he asked in a deep, loud, playfully-menacing voice, "So, which one of you wimpy chumps wanna be first to take on the big, the strong, the undeniably handsome, one and only greatest Viking-" he swept an arm in a noble bow, "-The King of Scandinavia!"

Lukas, Tino, Emil, and Peter immediately looked towards Berwald, who felt them staring at him and blushed in discomfort from the sudden and expectant attention. "I-I guess I can give it the first go," he muttered as he took off his glasses and handed them to Tino. He stepped onto the mat in front of Mathias. The others quickly scurried off the mat, knowing fully well that when these two fight, it'll get destructive, even if they weren't allowed to injure each other greatly.

"Aw, so it's _you _that dares to take on The King of Scandinavia, I see!" Mathias said with his chest puffed out. "I hope you are well prepared for a whipping on your- agh!"

Berwald had tackled Mathias to the mat before letting Mathias finish his taunting. With the way Berwald had positioned himself on Mathias- straddling him while pushing down on his chest- it looked as if Berwald was sure to win this match before even a minute passed, but Mathias wasn't going to take a lost so easily. Gripping one of Berwald's wrists, Mathias used his free arm to elbow Berwald's collarbone, and when the hit had momentarily distracted Berwald, Mathias twisted Berwald's wrist and pushed him off. They both rolled onto their feet and bent low, palms up as if ready to grab the other. They circled the mat without breaking eye contact.

"So, you tried to take me on while I was momentarily distracted, huh?" Mathias asked. "Couldn't wait for me to at least get the crowd hyped up for our match?"

"You talk too much," Berwald simply stated. He lunged at Mathias again and grappled his hips. He then lifted him up to body slam him, but Mathias swiftly kicked and twisted out of Berwald's hold and landed gracefully on his feet behind Berwald.

"Heh, when you're as epic of a fighter as I am, Berry, people simply can't get enough of my words!" Mathias reciprocated Berwald's lunging move and tried to get at his hips, but Berwald predicted that move and met Mathias head on. They ended up grabbing each other's shoulders, pushing at each other to get the opponent to the ground.

"Hey! Kick his ass, Papa!" Peter ordered, bouncing on his toes in extreme excitement.

"Peter! What have I told you about swearing?!" Tino scolded him. When he heard Berwald grunt and saw that Berwald was on his stomach with Mathias straddling his back and twisting one of Berwald's arm behind him, Tino gasped. "Berwald, what the hell?! Get his ass off you! You're _bigger _than him! Kick his ass!"

That proved to be enough motivation for Berwald, because he used his free arm to push himself up. He then twisted his torso twice, once to make Mathias lose his balance and the second time to quickly use his free arm to elbow Mathias off completely.

"Give 'im the chair, Papa!" Peter shouted, which was unnecessary since Berwald rolled on Mathias and had pinned his wrists down with one hand and his chest with the other.

"Chair? What chair? There is no chair, you idiot!" Emil scoffed.

The stopwatch made a harsh buzz, indicating that it registered Berwald's pin and made Berwald the winner of this match.

"Aw, dammit!" Mathias yelled as he kicked down on the mat in anger.

Berwald climbed off Mathias and held out his hand. "Ya did well," Berwald said as Mathias took his hand and let himself be pulled up.

"Whatever; you too, I guess," Mathias grumbled. He went to the stopwatch. "Wow, four and a half minutes. Nice job, bro!" He cheered as he reset the stopwatch. He then went to slap Berwald's shoulder merrily. Berwald walked off the mat, rubbing his shoulder and wincing softly. "So, who else wants to step up and challenge The King?"

"Um, Mathias, shouldn't you take a quick break before trying to fight anyone else?" Tino asked with concern.

Mathias held his head high, puffed out his chest again, and beat his fist on it. "Naw, man, I'm good for another round. Don't forget, dude, you're looking at the greatest warrior the world has ever seen!"

"Says the guy who's been beaten by his practically blind little brother in under five minutes," Emil muttered mockingly. He and Lukas snickered to each other while Tino tried not to giggle.

"Oh, what's that I hear?" Mathias said as he cup a hand to his ear. "Does that sound like my next opponent who dares to take on The King?!"

"No, I-"

"Well, step on up, little man!" Mathias slapped his palms on his chest. "Come at me, bro!"

Rolling his eyes, Emil walked on the mat and looked up at Mathias with a bored expression.

"Good luck, lillebror," Lukas called out to Emil. Emil only crossed his arms and rolled his eyes again as a response.

"This is stupid," Emil muttered.

"Aw, you're just saying that because you know your scrawny ass will be kicked hard!" Mathias pointed to himself. "By me! Oh, yeah!"

"You are seriously too excited about this-hey!" Emil jumped out-of-the-way as Mathias lunged at him. "Whoa! Would you _mind _calming down just a tad?!"

"There's no such thing as 'calming down' in WrestleMania!" Mathias lunged at Emil again, who jumped out of his path again and roundhouse kicked Mathias in his bottom.

"Wow, I literally kicked your ass!" Emil laughed. He bounced on his toes a little as the adrenaline started to kick in.

Mathias glared at him over his shoulder, rubbing his butt and blushing in embarrassment. Now really getting in the fighting spirit, Emil smirked and widened his stance, placing his fists by his hips. When Mathias charged at him for the third time, Emil grabbed an outstretched arm, turned around, and flipped Mathias over his back.

"Wow, go Emil," Lukas deadpanned as he instantly replayed the physically daunting move in his mind with admiration.

Emil skipped backwards when Mathias slowly rose from the mat. He then charged at Mathias and tackled him to the mat. He turned Mathias onto his stomach and twisted both of his arms behind him. He looked at the stopwatch expectantly, but yelped in surprised and became disappointed as Mathias easily shook him off. Sprawled on the mat, Emil cursed under his breath as Mathias practically jumped on him to pin him down. He lifted up Emil's leg, waited, and grinned as the stopwatch buzzed.

He jumped off of Emil and started bouncing around as he held his fists up above his head. "WINNER!" He announced at the top of his lungs. He looked at the stopwatch. "Dang, and at only two minutes, too! Ha ha ha! Now you know better than to talk smack to the CHAMP!" He quickly went to reset the stopwatch for the next match.

Emil stormed off, swatting away Lukas's hand as Lukas tried to pat his back sympathetically. In his fit of frustration, he shoved Tino onto the mat.

"H-hey!" Tino stammered as he stumbled forward. He pouted at Emil before returning his attention to Mathias, who finished resetting the stopwatch and was looking down at Tino with a predatory sneer.

"Wow, it's always the smaller ones who're more eager to step up to the ring and take on the champ," Mathias chuckled. "Why is that?"

Tino chuckled nervously. "U-uh, well, I-I really don't know the reason for that, M-Mathias. I mean, um, _I _know I wouldn't take on more than I can-"

Mathias slapped Tino's shoulder. "Hey, Tino, relax, already! Like I said, no bones will be broken, so you have nothing to fear!" He stepped back and assumed the fighting stance: knees bent and palms up.

"W-well, if you say so," Tino mirrored Mathias and they started to circle each other.

"Go, Mama!" Peter shouted. Berwald muttered a "Yeah," to show his way of support.

This circling went on for about a couple of minutes, with neither of them willing to end the cycle.

"Oh, _c'mon, _Tino!" Berwald yelled impatiently. "Seriously?!"

"Well, damn, Berwald, it's not like I really know what I'm doing, here!" Tino shouted without looking away from Mathias.

"Hafta agree with Berry, dude; you're gonna have to attack sometime!" Mathias said in a sing-song tone.

"Well, since _you're _so eager to start this, why don't _you _attack _me?_"

"Hey, man, you were the one who was too scared to even face me without a little push. I'm just allowing _you _the first hit-"

"Oh, really? How nice of y-"

"But hey, if you're not gonna take it..." Mathias lunged after Tino, who suddenly cartwheeled to the side and out of Mathias's path. Mathias gaped at him. "What the...?"

Tino stared at the spot he was just standing on in surprise. "Wow, I...I don't know what that was. I guess I have some sort of soldier still in me." Mathias snorted at the unknown joke. "Oh, shut up, you idiot!" Tino grabbed one of Mathias's arms, swung him forward then forcefully pulled him backward and let him go. Mathias stumbled backward, fell on his butt, and rolled onto his feet. Tino stayed away, but still held his fighting stance, waiting for Mathias's attack. Mathias stayed still, and suddenly stomped in front of him on the mat; he didn't move towards Tino, but it still made Tino flinch and cross his arms in front of him in defense. When Tino saw that Mathias didn't move, he put his arms down, which was a bad idea because Mathias _did _come after him. He clotheslined Tino to the ground, turned him on his stomach, straddled him, and wrapped an arm around his neck. He pulled Tino's head back into a chokehold and waited for the stopwatch to sense the pin.

"M-Mathias! Damn it, be careful with him!" Berwald ordered in fear as he watched his husband's face slowly turn blue. He didn't have long to worry, though; Tino slapped the mat repeatedly before the stopwatch even buzzed.

Mathias climbed off of Tino and pulled him up. "Aw, Tino, dude, _quitting_?! That's lame!"

"You were choking me!" Tino protested as he rubbed his throat and gasped for air. "What happened to 'no serious injuries'?"

"I was just pinning you, Tino, gosh! I wasn't going to strangle you to death!" He went to reset the still-running stopwatch, which had just hit three minutes and twenty-eight seconds. "Aw, you couldn't even last five minutes! Feh, next!"

Like Emil, Lukas stepped onto the mat with a bored and impatient expression. When Mathias turned away from the stopwatch and saw Lukas, he grinned his special grin, the wide, cocky grin that he reserved only for Lukas when he was ready to "play with his kitten", laced with all of its glorious innuendo and mischief that only one who've went through the hundreds of thousands of lewd nights can detect.

Mathias crossed his arms and started walking around Lukas, looking him up and down and chuckling in a low voice. "Wow, so my next opponent is my precious, hm? But I'm not sure that is a good idea, though. I mean, there's not much in the muscle mass department; your height could be a little higher-"

"You just don't know when people are sick of your constant and pointless taunting, do you?" Lukas muttered as he put his hands up and widened his stance.

"And your attitude leaves much to the imagination," Mathias grumbled. Nonetheless, he shrugged and got into position.

They both stood still, hearts palpitating in anticipation, breaths coming in and out slowly, until Lukas was just sick of waiting for Mathias to attack first and came at him, jumping and kicking Mathias in chest right at the center just light enough to sting him without breaking his chest plate. Winded by the kick, Mathias gasped and grasped at his chest; he bore his teeth in a playfully vicious sneer. He charged at Lukas to grapple his waist, but Lukas crouched low and made a sweeping kick under him to trip him. Mathias skidded on his stomach as he fell and pushed himself up.

"Heh, good to see you're not out of touch, Norge," Mathias scoffed.

Lukas only wiggled his index finger. "Come on."

"Whoa, Lukas's so badass!" Peter gasped in admiration. Emil sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

Mathias ran towards him and tried to strike Lukas's stomach. Lukas swiveled to the side and jutted his knee into Mathias exposed gut. Mathias grabbed Lukas's thigh and shoulder and lifted Lukas high above his head. He slammed Lukas onto the mat and smiled inwardly as Lukas yelped and writhed.

"Lukas!" Emil cried, which made Mathias smile wider. He started to walk towards Lukas to help him, but stopped when Berwald put up an arm to block him, shaking his head in disapproval.

Mathias bent down to Lukas's face. "That oughtta make up for the head injuries this morning," he hissed in Lukas's ear.

Lukas quickly wrapped his arms around Mathias's neck and pulled him to the mat with him. Once Mathias was on the mat, Lukas grabbed Mathias's arm, slung a leg over his chest, and pressed his leg down as a sort of weight while he tugged the arm. He almost smirked to himself when Mathias whimpered in pain.

"Ah, ah, _ow_! Lukas, leggo!" Mathias finally cried out.

"There's only one way I'd let go, Dane," Lukas replied coldly. _C'mon, Dane, submit! _He thought

Almost as if he was reading Lukas's mind, Mathias howled, "Never!" in a strained voice and wriggled frantically. Using his free hand, Mathias grabbed Lukas's ankle and lifted his leg until he had enough room to move freely. He rolled on his side into Lukas's thigh and jerked the leg upward, yanking his arm free when Lukas was too distracted by the sudden act to hold on tightly any longer. He scurried away from Lukas and stood up, rolling his aching shoulder."Damn, man, were you seriously gonna dislocate my shoulder?!"

Lukas stood up as well an shrugged. "Maybe."

"B-but, I thought you _didn't _want any of my bones to break?"

"No, I didn't want two or more people fighting you."

"...Oh, yeah. Well, the rule still stands! And with that said..." Mathias trailed off as he ran to Lukas with an arm crooked out to clothes line him. Lukas swiftly bent backwards and turned around to grab Mathias's still outstretched arm. He wrapped a leg around one of Mathias's leg, pulled it back, and sent them both falling to the mat with Lukas on top of him. Lukas then straddled Mathias, twisted his arm back, and held him down by the back of his neck. A few seconds later, the stopwatch buzzed.

"Whoo-hoo! _Yeah_!" Emil cheered as he threw his fists up in the air. When he noticed that everyone stared at him in amused surprised, he lowered his arms and coughed. "I'm only happy that Mathias lost..." he mumbled.

Mathias shoved Lukas off of his back and stood up, pouting and straightening his spandex shorts. "Next," he grunted.

Lukas stood up as well and snickered. "Wait, don't tell me you're actually pissed?" When Mathias trudged towards the stopwatch in deliberate silence, Lukas snickered louder as his eyebrows rose in astonishment. "Wow, I can't believe you're actually this sore about losing to me."

"Geez, Uncle Mathias, it was just a small wrestling match; no need to get so worked up over it," Peter said to appease his brooding uncle.

"I'm not freaking worked up!" Mathias almost yelled. He picked up the stopwatch.

"Really, Mathias?" Lukas asked as he put his hands on his hips. "Because this looks so much different than how you reacted when _Berwald_ had beaten you."

"That's because Berwald isn't some dainty-ass pansy," Mathias grumbled as he fiddled with the stopwatch. A thin smile crept on his face as he read the time. "Heh, doesn't really matter, though; you lost to Berwald, anyway. Five minutes and six seconds. Now get off my mat!"

Scoffing, Lukas stormed off the mat and Peter skipped excitedly in his place, face set in a determined smirk. Mathias started the stopwatch and turned to Peter, not even bothering to get into his fighting pose. Peter charged at him and grappled his hips, heaving up as he tried to lift Mathias for a body slam. Mathias looked down at Peter with an unimpressed stare before scooping him up and gently laying him on the mat. He pinned him before the stopwatch hit the thirty-second mark. When Mathias released him, Peter stuck his tongue out and stomped off the mat into Tino's arms, muttering "cheating jerk" as he swiped repeatedly at his tears; Berwald watched Peter and laughed inwardly.

"What happened to not getting worked up over a wrestling match?" Mathias taunted. He snickered as Peter secretly flipped him off when Tino wasn't looking. "Anyway, now that WrestleMania had come to a close..." He paused to choke back a fake sob, earning him a couple of eyerolls and annoyed sighs. "Now that it's over, I guess it's time to announce this tournament's winner." He announced with a loud baritone, "And the _winner _for the _Denmark Wrestling Confederation is- BERWALD OXENSTIERNA!_" He took Berwald's wrist and yanked it up above his head and then hurried to the closet to dig through it some more. "And what better way to commemorate this victory than with the official Championship Belt!"

"Mathias," Lukas spoke up, "don't you think you're taking this silly little game a bit too- whoa..." He trailed off as he joined the others in staring at the "Championship Belt" which had authentic leather straps, a platinum hook on one strap and multiple rings on the other strap for adjustable waist size. The large plate sown in the belt's widened middle was covered with transculent green and blue rhinestones and had a large, crude "W" in its center.

Berwald held out his forearms and Mathias laid the belt gently on them. Berwald gazed at the belt. "Wow...it's nice. Tack. Where'dya get this?"

Mathias slapped Berwald's shoulder again. "No problem, buddy! Alfred gave it to me as an apology for not hanging out with me as much as we used to, but it's been a hassle to keep up with, which makes me glad you won i; I know you wouldn't lose it time and time again."

"Wow, you sure have been given a lot of gifts, Mathias," Tino said as he looked at the belt. He poked the "W" emblem and squeaked as it swivelled. "Oh, no! I think I broke it! I'm sorry!"

"...Or it's a piece of junk," Emil muttered.

"No and no," Mathias replied. "It's made to spin like that, look!" He spun the emblem. "See? It's a Jon Cena belt!"

"...Who?" Berwald said.

"Jon Cena? American pro wrestler and movie actor? He's one of the coolest guys Alfred ever introduced to me!"

"Yeah, to _you,_" Lukas said, "Not to the rest of us. Not everyone follows this- _wrestling_ thing like you and Al do."

"Speaking of wrestling, can we get out of these wrestling shorts?" Emil asked as he fingered his shorts. "These things have rode up on me too many times, now."

"Fine, go, whatever," Mathias huffed. "I gotta put this stuff away, anyway."

"Would you like some help?" Tino offered as the others made their way to the door, Berwald still fixated on his belt.

Mathias waved his hand dismissively as he disconnected the stopwatch and the mat. "Naw, go on, Tino, I got this. Go help Lukas with lunch or something." When Tino left gym, Mathias began to pull the mat apart into smaller squares and leaned them against the wall. Once he finished that, he went back to the stopwatch and scooped it up in his hand. He pressed one of the large buttons a couple of times, and into the palm of his hand fell a small, silver computer chip. He flipped the red switch to shut the hidden camera off and went to the closet to put the stopwatch away.

* * *

Ugh, such a long chapter! *headdesk* I had hoped to finish this one sooner and post it quickly, but as luck would have it, the chapter came out longer than I planned it to be; heck, this just might be the longest one I'll ever write (and the only long one I'll write, hopefully). Well, I at least had some fun with hurting Mathias a bit, and writing the wrestling scene was cool, even if I'm not a fan of it. :) Hope you liked this one!


	6. Keeping Things Quiet

The mansion was silent. Snugged in their lavished quilts on their comfortable beds, the guests were sound asleep after a particularly exciting day of family fun wrestling and a video-game tournament afterwards. And that's just how Mathias wanted it.

Mathias needed the solitude and silence from his guests' slumber in order to put his whole concentration on the task at hand. He was up in the dead of night in his study, sitting at his desk with a clipboard on one side and his computer in front of him. Lazily leaning back into his desk chair, Mathias stared at the computer screen as it lit up the bored and impatient expression on his face. Although he was excited that he was getting further along to his goal, he hated having to do so when it interfered with his own sleep patterns. Not that it mattered though; ever since he came up with his idea, he was unable to sleep for months from the glee he felt. He was actually quite surprised that he was able to think and act normally with the amount of sleep he has lost. But it was all going to be worth it. Mathias leaned forward in his chair when the video on the computer finally loaded and started to show what he was waiting for.

In the video, Berwald was reluctantly stepping onto the mat to face Mathias in the first wrestling match. Mathias poised his pen on the clipboard where Berwald's name was written. Every half page was committed to a guest, and next to each guest's name (expect Peter's) was a number that ranked them based on the speed they ran, from fastest to slowest, with Emil taking the lead at number one. Mathias smiled at that note: Emil really did looked beautiful as he ran, like a pure-white snow cat among the forest foliage. In the video, Berwald had cut Mathias off when he immediately went for the tackle. Mathias scribbled on his clipboard hurriedly.

_-Attacks quickly while opponent is distracted._

_-Usually goes for lower body, especially hips._

_-Uses brute force. (Just like I taught him, _Mathias thought with a nostalgic grin.)

_-Unknowingly leaves legs unprotected._

_-Is blind._

_-Is motivated by husband._

When the match ended with Berwald as victor, Mathias moved down to the next section of his clipboard, which happened to belong to Emil. Emil was walking onto the mat and displaying all the signs of a moody teenager: crossed arms, irritated comments, eye rolls, general hatred of his own family. That is, until Mathias lunged at him. He took notes of all that he was seeing.

_-Has excellent reflexes and speed._

_-Uses quick moves and momentum from the legs._

Mathias looked up at the screen just when Emil took his fighting stance. He recognized its style.

_-Fights in Tae Kwon Do style._ (Probably_ got it from hanging with that Asian family for so many times, _Mathias concluded.)

Mathias grinned as he watched himself easily pin Emil down.

_-Has very light bodyweight._

Up next to step- more like shoved- onto the mat and fight Mathias in the video was Tino. Even though he was a decent fighter, he was still very timid, shown by the way he was just circling Mathias, waiting to see what Mathias's first move. He then nimbly cartwheeled out of the way as Mathias charged at him. He then grabbed Mathias's arm and swung him back. They then went back to waiting each other out before Mathias got Tino into the chokehold that made him submit.

_-Very intimidated, yet nimble._

_-Waits for opponent's move to counteract._

_-Puts as much distance between him and opponent as possible._

_-May submit if put in enough danger._

The next to step onto the mat was Lukas. Mathias smiled gently to himself seeing his kitten, but then frowned at the victory that was to come. _That delicate little pansy shouldn't have been able to beat me, _Mathias thought. He frowned even more when he watched Lukas take his fighting stance and pull all sorts of moves to fight Mathias. Mathias took notes of Lukas's varying moves.

_-Varies from kickboxing to martial arts._

_-Light on his feet; dodges quickly._

_-Uses bodyweight as well as speed._

_-Watches for opponent's moves, too._

_-Needs a serious attitude adjustment_ (I'll_ take care of that really soon, _Mathias thought with a smirk.)

When Peter came onto the mat, Mathias didn't even bother to study his part. He simply scrawled on his clipboard:

_-WEAK_

"Hey, that's not fair!" An indignant voice said behind Mathias.

"The hell?!" Mathias jumped in his chair and swiveled it around to find Peter behind him, staring at the clipboard and pouting at the word he wrote under Peter's name. Mathias closed the video and ejected the silver computer chip that held the video from its port. "What the fuck are you doing here?!" Mathias hissed quietly to not wake the others.

"I had to pee and when I left the bathroom, I saw you come in here, " Peter replied. "You were looking kinda weird, so I wanted to see what's going on."

_How the hell did I miss him?! _Mathias wondered angrily, shoving the computer chip into his pocket. _The little bastard's been hangin' around Berry too much... _

"Hey, what's all this, anyway?" Peter reached for the clipboard, but Mathias picked it up and shoved it into his desk's drawer. "Geez! Rude!"

"No, what's _rude_ is a little brat sneaking into a _private _study without his uncle's permission when he's supposed to be in bed. You could've made some noise at the very least!"

"But if I did, then you might've made me go to bed. And I wanted to watch that video of us wrestling, too!" Peter then paused. "...Why _did _you have a recording of us wrestling, anyway? And why were you taking notes?"

Mathias stood from his seat and grabbed Peter's shoulder. "It's nothing, 'kay? Now go to bed and speak to _no one _about this, y'hear?" He pushed Peter to the direction of the door. "Don't. Tell. Anyone."

Peter shook his hand off. "I'm not going anywhere, you big buffoon! Why do I have to go? And what's the big deal? It was just a video."

"You're right, it's no big deal; just keep quiet about it, okay?"

"Why should I if it's no big deal, especially since you won't let me in on it?!"

Mathias breathed through his nostrils to calm himself. He was so close to yelling and waking up everyone else. "First, Peter, stop yelling. Second, you as the brat are supposed to respect your elders and obey them without question. Now shut up and get out!"

Peter stared straight into Mathias's eyes, clenching his fists and puffing out his chest defiantly. He then sneered. "You know what? I don't care that you're my uncle or how big of a stupid secret this is! I'm going to tell everyone here and you can't do a damn thing!" He stuck out his tongue and turned to leave.

Mathias snatched the back of Peter's sleep shirt and yanked it back. With a yelp, Peter fell backwards and landed hard on the study's floor.

"Hey! What-!"

Mathias slapped Peter's face and clamped his hand over Peter's mouth. He then lifted the boy up by the collar, keeping his hand over Peter's mouth, and leaned close to his face. "You know what your problem is, you stupid brat?" He hissed. "You're cute, so no one had the damn _balls_ to tell you that you talk too much for your own good and you should shut your damn mouth." He stared deep into Peter's bulging eyes, and then he let his eyes roam over Peter's body, noticing the askew state of his pajamas that exposed his delicate, pale skin that was rapidly covering in goose bumps. Peter's face was flushed red, especially the red hand mark the slap left on his cheek.

"Maybe...no one ever taught you properly...did they?"

Mathias laid Peter down on his back again and knelt on top of him. He brought his mouth to Peter's ear. "I guess I can teach ya." He licked the shell of Peter's ear and fingered the drawstring of his pajama pants. Peter wriggled and kicked and pleaded behind Mathias's hand, but he was too heavy; he couldn't get him off and escape. He then lied still as tears began to form in his eyes.

He squeezed his eyes shut. _Mama! Papa! Please help me...!_

* * *

*shudder* That...that was too disturbing. O_e


	7. Hunting

Dudes, thank you all so VERY much for the reviews! You have no idea how foolish I looked to my family doing a random happy dance out of nowhere while squealing giddily at your awesome reviews! (I lost my cool status because of it. I was never cool according to my family, but still... ;-;) Anyways, let me stop rambling and just say gracias tenfold! **And now, we see what has become of Peter**...

* * *

In the dark, empty expanse of the cellar, the sounds of shuffling fabric, grunting, and swearing echoed and bounced off the cold cement walls. The source of the noises, Mathias, was busying himself with hoisting a nylon-wrapped, shapeless bundle over his shoulder without loosening the straps tied around the bundle to keep the cover in place. For some odd reason, the pieces and parts he placed within the wrap were a lot heavier than when they were still together as a whole body, which made sneaking them up the stairs and past the detection of his guests- especially Tino- an unnecessary challenge. He needed to keep this out of their eyes because if they were to see what he had, there would be a lot of questioning, and he doesn't want them to know. At least, not yet.

Once he miraculously reached the bottom step of the cellar, Mathias began the process of heaving his bundle upstairs, the heavy weight slowing his movements. _Damn, how heavy can these pieces be?_ Mathias wondered in frustration. _Is it because they're made of steel? _He kicked the door open, wincing at the loud bang it made. He stood still and listened quietly. When he heard no footsteps or voices suggesting that someone woke up and wanted to investigate the sudden noise, he sighed in relief and continued on his way. Just as he was passing through the kitchen, the ties binding the straps around the bundle fell apart, and the content spilled out and tumbled across the kitchen tiles.

"Son of a bitch!" Mathias hissed. He knelt down and quickly gathered the small parts, taking some time to wipe and pick off the coating of dried blood he missed. He then placed them in the nylon blanket, rewrapped them, and retied the straps. He balanced the bundle on his shoulder again and made his way to the door to go find a good hiding place.

* * *

The harsh buzz of the alarm clock in the Oxenstierna bedroom rang loudly as its digital numbers read eight-thirty. Aroused from his dreams, Tino sleepily reached over his husband to shut the alarm off. He then settle back down in his sleeping spot, resting his head on Berwald's shoulder and tracing his finger along Berwald's jaw. He watched his sleeping husband with a smile, noticing with humor that he wore the "championship" belt he won from yesterday to bed. He flicked the little W on the belt's buckle, the rhinestones on it glittering in the morning light as it spun. When he was done playing with the belt, Tino sat up and stretched.

_Wow, I can't remember sleeping so well since we adopted Peter, _he thought pleasantly. Then it hit him.

Peter didn't come into their room last night, like he usually would.

_Is Peter okay? _Tino wondered. He quietly slipped out of bed to not disturb his husband and crept to the bedroom door. He walked across the hall to Peter's guest room and opened the door. "Peter?" He called quietly. He poked his head into the opening. "Peter, are you okay?" He looked at the pirate bed, the small male form missing from it's disheveled sheets. "Maybe he's in the bathroom..." He gently closed the door and hurried to the bathroom. He knocked on the door. When no answer came, he opened the door to find that it was empty, too. He walked throughout the upper level, carefully opening doors so he wouldn't disturb the other sleeping Nordics (expect the one door that Mathias kept locked, which the older nations secretly guessed was his room of secret pornography stash). After closing the final door with no sight of Peter, he took a deep, calming breath.

"Tino, it's okay," Tino said to himself. "P-Peter's fine..." He stood still for a moment, trying to calm his racing mind so it wouldn't fill with images of Peter hurt and bruised and alone and scared...

Tino sprinted to his bedroom and burst through the door. He jumped on the bed on top of Berwald and shook Berwald violently. "Berwald! Berwald, wake up! BERWALD!"

Berwald shot up at the sound of his husband's shrieking. Reaching for his glasses on the bedside table, he yawned, "Tino, what is _wrong _with you?!"

"Berwald! Peter's missing!"

"...What?"

"Peter's. Missing."

"...Tino, I doubt that-"

"He _is,_ Berwald! I checked all upstairs, in all of the bedrooms, bathrooms, even the closets! He's not in any of them!"

"...Didya check any of the rooms in the lower levels?"

"Well...no..."

"Goodnight, then." Berwald placed his glasses onto the table again and slumped back down on the bed.

"Berwald, no! This is serious!" Tino cried, slapping his husband on the shoulder. Berwald sighed and sat back up, slipping his glasses over his eyes. "We need to look for our son!"

"Tino, what makes you think that he's in danger?"

"He didn't come to wake us up last night like he usually does!"

"...Good point, but maybe he's just maturing and doesn't need our constant care as much."

"People don't just mature overnight, Berwald! And this is _Peter_ we're talking about!"

"He's not going to grow up the way you baby him," Berwald muttered under his breath.

Tino narrowed his eyes. "...Excuse me?"

"Nothing, let's go," Berwald said hurriedly. The two climbed off the bed and exited the bedroom, with Tino running in the lead. In his haste, he rammed himself into Emil, causing them both to fall to the ground.

"Aw, dude!" Emil cried. "What the hell, Tino?"

"Sorry, sorry, sorry," Tino chanted as he stood up and pulled Emil to his feet. "I'm sorry, I'm just in a rush and I'm really worried because Peter's gone and we can't find him anywhere and I think he's hurt and-"

Berwald clapped a hand over Tino's mouth. "We're looking for Peter because he didn't come into our room last night," he summed up.

"...Right," Emil drawled. "Er, Tino, I really think you should calm down. I don't really see how Peter could get into any sort of peril. I mean, we're in an isolated mansion in the middle of a forest so no one can really get us, and I don't think Peter would be stupid enough to go out into the forest by himself with the animals like bears and wolves out there."

Tino brushed Berwald's hand off his mouth. "I can't be sure that he's okay until I see him, Emil!" He said with resolution.

"Ugh, what's going on here?" Lukas asked in a tired voice as he opened the door. He was rubbing his eyes and yawning, just waking up.

"Peter's missing and we're looking for him," Berwald said.

"Seriously? He was here yesterday. Where the hell can he go?"

"I don't know, but I think that if we don't find him soon, Tino might blow a gasket."

"Not funny, Berwald!" Tino pouted.

"...I won't be able to go back to sleep if Peter's not found, will I?" Lukas sighed. Berwald silently shook his head. "Okay, fine, let's go look for the little twerp, then."

"Oh, thank you, Lukas!" Tino cried, trapping Lukas into a grateful hug.

Lukas roughly shoved him off. "So, where did you look, Tino?" Lukas inquired curtly, ready to get the search over with and go back to bed.

"I looked all over the second level in all of the rooms he could be in, including the closets and bathrooms. He wasn't in any of them."

"Did you check the lower levels?"

"...No."

Lukas rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed heavily. "Okay, fine, we can start searching downstairs, then. C'mon." He led Tino and Berwald to the steps and stopped. "That means you, too, Emil," he added without looking back. Emil groaned and stomped after them.

Downstairs, they began their search for Peter, calling his name and threatening to hurt him or give him candy and toys if he came out. They looked in the guest bathrooms, closets, dining room, the recreation room Mathias dedicated to video games, and the gym they were in the other day with no sign of the child. Just when they made their way to the kitchen to search there and in the cellar, Mathias came in through the backdoor, wearing camouflaged cargo pants and vest over a black tank top. From his boots up to his knees, he was covered with caked mud and blood. Everyone stopped to look at him.

"What the heck is that?" Lukas said, breaking the silence.

Mathias looked down at his attire. "Mud? From the heavy rain last night?" he replied hesitantly.

Lukas rolled his eyes. "I meant why are you dressed up like a military soldier wannabe that already killed. Whatever. Mathias, have you seen Peter?"

For a moment, the bright gleam in Mathias's eyes disappeared as his gaze imperceptibly clouded over, his mind reverting to a memory of what had transpired the night before. Just as quickly as his mind fazed back, his attention came back, none of the others noticing his mental lapse. "I can't say that I have, Norge," Mathias replied with a shrug. "I was up all night and didn't see him at all. Why?"

"Because they lost their brat," Emil said, jerking his thumb at Berwald and Tino's direction.

"Hey! We didn't _lose_ Peter!" Tino spat. "We were just asleep and noticed that he didn't come to us in the middle of the night like he usually did. And he is _not_ a brat!"

"Keep calm and eat a salmiakki, Tino," Emil chuckled.

Tino gaped at him. "Did you just use a fucking _meme?! At a time like this?! _Dammit, Emil, this is not a fucking joke-!"

"EVERYONE SHUT THE HELL UP!" Lukas shouted through gritted teeth. His eyes were bulging and his clenched fists were shaking. "It's too damn early to give me a headache!" Everyone went silent. "Thank you. Now, are you going to help us find Peter?"

"I guess I can," Mathias said with uncertainty. "But if you were heading down the cellar, I can tell you right now that he isn't in there; I was there earlier all by myself."

"Then there's only one place to look," Berwald stated. "That is, if you're willing to let us look there, Mathias."

Mathias tilted his head in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"Your porno room."

"What do you mean my porno- oh! You mean my private study! No, he couldn't be in there because it's locked. Hey, wait a minute, what makes you guys think that I have porn in there?"

"We just know."

"Well, you don't know, because it's a legit study that I use for all sort of important stuff like paperwork and reading. And a guy like me _can _have his privacy without it being something perverted!"

"Hey, did you know that one in twenty-two children who are left alone or missing die because of their parents' absence and lack of intervention?" Tino aksed, his sweet tone laced with sardonic impatience.

"...Alright, fine, I'll take you guys up there, but I'm telling you that without my key, there's no way the little dude could get inside." Mathias led the other Nordics to the living room and up the stairs to his study. Fishing his key from his pocket, he unlocked the door and pushed it open.

Inside the room, behind the desk, was Peter, curled up into a ball on the computer chair. He buried his face in his knees and had his arms wrapped around his legs, and judging from the soft, muffled sounds he was making, he was in a deep sleep.

"Peter!" Tino cried. He shoved Mathias out of the way and nearly trampled on him to get into the room.

Peter's head shot up and he gazed sleepily around him. When his eyes locked onto Tino, he jumped out of his seat and ran towards him. "Mama," he said pleadingly, opening his arms for a hug. Tino squeezed him tightly, hugging Peter's head close to his chest.

"Darn it, Peter, where have you been?" Tino said as he stroke his son's hair. "I was worried sick."

"Geez, Tino, he wasn't even gone for a full day," Mathias said. "You're taking this mothering thing a bit too seriously."

"Mathias, don't test Tino," Berwald said in a warning tone.

"But it's true-"

"Mathias. Shush. Now. For your own good."

"Whatever," Mathias scoffed with an eye roll.

"Thank you, Berwald," Tino said. He then asked Peter, "Sweetheart, what were you doing?"

"Yeah, what the heck _were _you doing, Peter?" Mathias interjected. He crossed his arms and looked down at Peter with a hard glare. _Go on, Peter, tell your nice mommy what you did last night, _he smirked inwardly.

Peter stared back at Mathias, momentarily stunned into silence by the intensity hidden within the blue irises, as if he was a helpless bunny cornered by the Big Bad Wolf he read in his books, just before the kill. His mouth became dry, and all that came out was a small, "I...I...I snuck in..."

"You snuck in here? How?"

"I-I picked the lock..."

"Why would you do that, Peter?" Tino asked in his gentle scolding voice. "Did we not teach you to respect other's privacy and property? If your uncle didn't want any of us to be in here, then that's that. And what have I told you about picking locks? That's a burgular's trick, and I'm not raising you to be a burgular."

Peter simply nodded in agreement. "Yes, Mama, I know... I'm sorry..." He suddenly felt very weak and tired; he just wanted to go back to sleep and rest his mind and not have to struggle with keeping the truth within him, that yes, he did sneak in knowing he shouldn't have, but didn't do anything wrong, at least he hope he didn't...Did he? "I just...I just wanted to know what was the big deal, is all." His stomach twisted and his legs felt weak and numb, not from tiredness but from..._ that. _

Tino sighed and shook his head in disapproval. "Oh, Peter, what am I going to do with you, hm?" He took Peter's hand. "Come on, I'll make some breakfast."

"A-actually, Mama, I don't feel well. I just want to go to bed."

Tino and Berwald exchanged glances. "Oh, are you sure, sweetie? I was going to make some scrambled egg with chocolate chip waffles and a side of tuna jerky, your favorites."

"It's okay. I just want to sleep."

Berwald scooped Peter into his arms and carried him out, humming a lullaby into his ear as Peter rested his cheek on Berwald's shoulder. As they all filed out of the room, Mathias chimed, "Oh, yeah, guys, I got a surprise bro-bonding activity for ya!" He closed the door and locked it as a chorus of annoyed groans and "it's too early" was heard from the men.

None of the others took notice of the sticky pink spot, the mixture of red innocent blood and white predatory semen, puddled in the middle of the study's carpet.

* * *

Out in the forest that expanded from behind the mansion, Tino, Berwald, Emil, and Lukas stood among the trees, donning the same camouflage uniform that Mathias was wearing. After settling Peter into bed and having their breakfasts, Mathias shoved these clothes into their arms and ordered them to dress in them. He then led them outside to this spot, and ran off with a giddy grin, shouting "I'm coming back to get your surprise, don't leave!" over his shoulder. He's been gone for almost a half hour, and now that everything was settled and everyone had their breakfast, they were all getting sleepy again.

"Ugh...Tired," Emil moaned, resisting the urge to lay his head on Lukas's shoulder and fall asleep as so.

"I know, Emil, I know," Lukas replied empathetically, using half of his low energy to stay awake and the other half to hope that Emil would rest his head on Lukas's shoulder like he used to as a toddler. He then wondered aloud, "Where is Mathias, already? My legs are falling asleep."

"I swear, if he snuck back to his room to get some sleep while leaving us out here, I'm going to-" Berwald interrupted himself with a yawn.

"No worries, dude, I'm back!" Mathias's voice boomed from the mass of trees, "and I got the most kickass surprise for you all!" He materialized and looked muddier than ever, dragging a huge forest green nylon pack by the straps wrapped around it. This was covered in mud and dead vegetation, as if covered by the coating for concealment. He swung it so it sat in front of his feet.

"What is that?" Lukas pointed at the pack.

"The best component to the best bonding ever, that's what it is!" Mathias cheered. He knelt down and undone the straps' ties, and he unwrapped the items inside it, smiling proudly to himself as the others gasped in amazement.

"M-M-Mathias," Tino stammered in awe, "a-are those-?"

"Yeah, they are! Official T20 semi-automatic rifles!" Mathias took pieces of the weapon and put them together, creating a long, bulky, steel rifle. He turned it in his hands, admiring the sleek body that was cold in the palms of his hands. "Aren't they just beautiful? Almost puts tears to my eyes."

"Indeed, they are!" Tino squealed. He knelt and eagerly reached for the bundle of rifle parts, but large hands grabbed his wrists. "Hey!" He shot a glare at Berwald, whom stood behind him and shook his head disapprovingly. "What are you doing?"

"Tryin' to keep all of us safe."

"Oh, ha ha, Berwald very funny: let's stop the trigger-happy psycho from getting guns before he shoots everyone dead. Knock it off, Berwald, okay?" He tried to yank his wrists free. "Berwald, let go. Seriously."

"Sorry, love, but I don't feel like dying, today," Berwald said as he tightened his grip on Tino's wrist.

"Berwald...I'm serious..."

"So am I." He began to pull Tino away from the rifle parts.

"Let go!"

"No..."

"Agh! You're hurting my wrists!"

While the husbands broke out into a yelling fight (with Tino doing all of the yelling and Berwald calmly ignored the protests), Lukas pulled out a rectangular barrel and examined it. The ruby-encrusted phoenix on the side gleamed bright red in the light. "These are real," Lukas observed. "What are we going to do with military rifles?"

"Uh, duh, we're going to hunt," Mathias said as he looked through the cross-hairs and aimed at Lukas. He then yanked the barrel up, making a "bang" sound to imitate a gun shot.

Lukas rolled his eyes at the act. "So, we're going to kill deer and stuff with these?"

"Yep. These babies right here have a high capacity load so reloading won't be a hassle and the crosshairs magnify up to two hundred times! You can make an accurate shot at the prey's eyeball! How cool is that?!"

"It's pretty neat," Lukas said absentmindedly, still examining the barrel, "but why didn't you get the simple hunting rifles? Or sniper rifles if you really wanted extravagance. I mean, this stuff looks seriously expensive." He brought the barrel closer to his eye and scraped his finger on a dried spot. "And is this blood?"

"Vash gave these to me when he heard that I was moving," Mathias replied. "These were his 'home-warming' gifts; he even got his little sister to put the awesome ruby phoenixes on each of them! And yeah, it's blood; I was testing them out to see if they're as effective as they look on a big, burly bear that was chasing me and let me tell ya, Vash did_ not_ disappoint! I mean, the bullets' penetrations were so fierce that blood and guts were splattering everywhere! Man, it was cool!"

"...You were chased by a bear?"

"Yeah, wouldn't you believe it? I guess I was just too close to his den or something when I was hiding these outside and he got pissed. Heh, too bad he was all roar and no bite when he faced this." He pat the rifle affectionately. "Hey, dude, put your rifle together and let's get going! Emil, you- Emil?"

Amidst the gun appreciation between Lukas and Mathias, and the marital sparring still going on between Berwald and Tino, Emil walked off to an area away from the group and retreated to his musical world, eyes closed and head bobbing to the song that was blasting in his ear drum. Irritated by the inattentive teen, Mathias picked up a pebble and shot it at Emil. The pebble hit Emil's forehead and actually knocked his head back. Emil yanked his ear buds out and glared at Mathias.

"Glad you're back from the dead, Ice!" Mathias shouted before Emil could start ranting. "Come here, you need to put together your rifle."

"For what? And why should I?" Emil rubbed his forehead where the pebble hit him. He winced at the painful sensation forming there.

"We're going to hunt some animals, dude, for some quality time together. Now get your ass over here and get your rifle!"

Grumbling obscenities and complaints to himself, Emil stomped over to the two men and knelt down next to them. He put the parts of his rifle together and stood up, holding the weapon in his hands as if ready for the next command. After Lukas assembled his own rifle and helped Mathias calm Tino and Berwald long enough to have them do the same, the group huddled together to listen to Mathias's instructions.

"Okay, guys, so here's what we're going to do. We'll break off into the trees and search for animals by ourselves for three hours. Then we'll come back for a break, maybe even a shower if you're too girly to handle a little dirt"-he took a quick glance at Lukas-"and then come back in at six, when the animals decide to call it a night. Whoever brings in the best catch gets to decide tonight's dinner! And, break!"

The Nordics split off and went in different directions into the trees, Berwald keeping sure to stay as close to Tino's position as possible without being seen by him, and they all went out to hunt.

Everyone except Emil, that is. Emil took advantage of the newfound solitude to return to his music. He reinserted his ear buds, turned the volume up as high as possible, and began strolling slowly through the trees. He hummed the song he was listening to, occasionally muttering the lyrics to himself as he kicked at the grass and pebbles below his feet.

After walking out in the distance for an hour, Mathias finally found a good, grassy area to hide in from his prey. The prey he had been following was a good few yards away from his position, and he was able to spot him easily among the shadows of the trees. His prey was blissfully unaware of his presence, and Mathias was so giddy that the urge to just end his life with a quick shot to the head was growing stronger. But he control that urge; it wasn't time yet. He slowly lowered himself into the thick grass, propped himself up on his elbows, nestled the rifle's butt against his shoulders, and looked into the crosshair. The prey's slender legs came into view, and Mathias smirked, pulling the trigger.

Still peacefully strolling through the forest, Emil looked around at the treetops and appreciated the fresh, green leaves hanging from them. He smiled at the birds nesting in the branches, the mother regurgitating food into her chicks' chirping beaks. _That's so nice..._ Then, he felt a couple of sharp pinches around his ankles in the front and back. _Whoa, what was...?_ He looked down at his leg and noticed that his boot was quickly soaking in the front and back, his blood pouring from holes in his boots.

Far away into the trees, Lukas was having a quick conversation with some new Danish fairies he met along his walk when he heard two gunshots ring out in the air. _Huh, I wonder who made a kill? _He thought. A few moments later, an inhuman "Aggggggggggh!" boomed out. _Oh, my goodness, was that-? _Lukas immediately sprang into action, sprinting and zigzagging through the trees and following the sound of Emil's cries. Ten minutes later, Lukas found Mathias and Emil. Mathias was kneeling next to Emil and hovering his hands over Emil as if he was confused as to what to do to help, and Emil was curled up on the grass, clutching his ankle tightly. Blood was seeping through his fingers.

"Oh, my goodness, what the hell happened?!" Lukas shouted as he dropped next to his brother. He began to rip off a piece of his tank top to tie it tightly around Emil's ankle.

"I-I-I don't know!" Mathias shrieked. "I-I think I shot him."

"You _what?!_"

"I'm sorry! I thought that Emil was a deer and-"

"How the fuck can you mistake a teenager for a deer?!"

"It was hard to see clearly from where I was and Emil's wearing brown boots and his legs were long and I didn't see his upper body-"

"Mathias, just shut up!" Lukas snarled. "Come on, carry him to the house so we can get him to the hospital!"

"R-right!" Mathias stood up and picked Emil up into his arms. He and Lukas began running in the direction towards the mansion, Lukas panting calming words to Emil. The three met up with Berwald and Tino along the way as they too ran to investigate the sudden scream. Upon seeing Emil's state, they made some closely accurate guesses as to what happened and ran beside them.

"Oh, my God, it hurts! It hurts!" Emil sobbed. Tears heavily soaked his cheeks.

"You're going to fine soon. It'll be okay, lillebror," Lukas assured him, brushing away the tears. But he didn't feel so sure about that when he saw his brother slowly lose consciousness.


	8. Bon Appétit

"Dude, I'm sorry! I'm really, seriously sorry!" Mathias apologized almost pleadingly.

"It's fine, Mathias," Emil sighed. "It was just an accident, calm down."

"I'm still sorry, bro! Honest!"

After being rushed to the hospital in Mathias's van and having his gun wound treated with shallow stitches, Emil was sent home with a prescription for painkillers and a recommendation to stay off his feet for a while to not stress the ankle anymore than needed. Mathias was carrying Emil on his back up the stairs to his mansion, spilling puppy-like remorse from his lips to Emil for shooting him and to Lukas for hurting his little brother.

Whereas Emil constantly dismissed Mathias's apologies, reassuring Mathias that he was fine and didn't need the constant apologies, Lukas deliberately ignored him to refrain from saying something that'll sting the Dane and hurt him worse than he already feels. He knew that the gun wound was an accident, and that he should let go of his grudge against Mathias just as Emil had as soon as he woke up on the hospital bed from his unconscious state, but he couldn't let go of the fact that his little was shot, by his boyfriend who prides himself on his "excellent shooting skills," no less. It was so unbelievable how Mathias could just shoot a kid like that, accident or no accident. And what if the gun wound was deeper? What if the bullet grazed more than just a couple layers of flesh and sinew, causing heavier blood loss? What if he aimed higher, at Emil's head?

Lukas groaned and rubbed the bridge of his nose. _Don't think about that. It didn't happen, so you don't need to worry about it._

"I-I'm sorry, Lukas, really," Mathias said quietly. Lukas simply scoffed and pushed the mansion's doors open for them all.

"Lukas, c'mon, don't be so mad," Emil said. "It was just an accident. Chill."

"How about _you_ try to be this forgiving when you're not hopped up on mind-calming painkillers," Lukas retorted. "Until then, quiet."

"But Lukas, it _was_ just an accident, and if Emil can forgive him, shouldn't you do so as well, seeing as how he was the one who was injured and can let it go?" Tino pointed out.

"Tino, don't you have dinner to make or something?"

"Oh, let me do it!" Everyone turned their eyes to Mathias, disbelief clear in their stares. "What?"

"You? Cook?" Berwald spoke up in the silence.

"Well, yeah. I'll, uh, make Ice's favorite dish and dessert, to, y'know, make it up to him..."

"So let me get this straight," Lukas said. "For shooting my brother, you're going to make it up to him by poisoning him and his entire family?"

"Aw, c'mon! I'm not a terrible cook! I can make a mean pasta meal if I wanted!"

"Pfft, yeah, mean to the stomach," Emil snorted. Mathias shrugged roughly to hit his shoulder under Emil's chin. "Ouch! Man, I was kidding!"

"Just because you're hurt doesn't mean that you can get a free pass to hurt my feelings."

"So you shot my brother, plan on poisoning him with food, and now you're going to injure his cute little chin?" Lukas glared at Mathias. "You sure do seem to regret hurting my lillebror."

"Lukas, ew. My chin isn't 'cute'."

"Well, if anyone else besides Lukas doesn't mind," Tino said, "I wouldn't mind if Mathias makes tonight's dinner. Berwald and I have to check on Peter; he's been out all day and it's really strange. I hope he's not sick; I wouldn't want him to miss dinner."

"You don't want him to get sick, yet you're going to make him eat Mathias's food?" Berwald asked him.

"Hey! Stop it!"

"Berwald, bad food or not, it's not healthy for a growing boy to miss a meal," Tino stated. "Now, Lukas, would you mind if Mathias cooked for tonight? It seems like a nice enough gesture, and you should let him do it if nothing else will change your mood."

Lukas looked at everyone, especially at Mathias, whom was smiling apologetically at him, silently begging for a second chance. "Ugh, fine," Lukas groaned. "But make sure you don't give us food poisoning." He looked Mathias up and down. "And make sure you shower and change clothes first; I don't like the thought of a person covered in blood and mud cooking my meals."

Mathias grinned excitedly. "Aye, aye, captain!" He hurriedly put Emil on the couch and rushed upstairs to the bathroom.

"...Isn't he going to ask me what I wanted for dinner tonight?" Emil wondered aloud.

* * *

"PEOPLE! SOUP'S ON!" Mathias barked from the kitchen doorway. He haphazardly plates of food on his arms, miraculously getting them to the table. The others walked precariously to the dining room table, Emil limping slightly after refusing anymore help from any of the Nordics. Mathias frowned deeply at the hesitance. "Guys, seriously? C'mon, the food's fine."

"Are you sure, Mathias?" Tino asked quietly. "I mean, not to insult you, but we _have _gotten sick a couple of times before from eating your food."

"I don't believe this!" Mathias threw his hands up angrily. "I can't believe that you are going to ask me to cook dinner for you and then just change your damn mind! What kind of cowardly shit is that?! Why didn't you just make this yourself if you were so damn unsure?!"

"Mathias, no one changed his mind, okay?" Tino said in the same voice he'd use to calm an angry child. "I appreciate you cooking in my place, but still, can you forgive us for being a little cautious after the first few attempts?"

"Plus, you _offered_ to cook for _me_," Emil added, raising his hand tentatively. "And you still didn't ask what I wanted."

"Ugh, fine, I'll just throw this shit away, then!" Mathias yelled, half-ignoring Emil. He picked up a plate, but Lukas took his arm. "Hey, let go!"

"Mathias, calm your ass down, already," Lukas said. "We'll eat it, okay? Geez." He took the plate from Dane's hand and replaced it on the table. He sat down in front of it and looked at the others, silently prompting them to follow his actions. After everyone took a seat, with Emil silently muttering "this _still _isn't what I wanted for dinner, but whatever," Lukas looked at the surrounding plates. "...There're only five," he observed.

"Oh, I'm not eating," Mathias stated.

Everyone stared at him and started to get up from their seats.

"Oh, hey! It's not even like that!" Mathias said, frantically waving his arms. "I just want to skip dinner because I don't eat food after visiting the hospital; hospitals make my stomach queasy."

"Oh, really?" Lukas said. "So, you don't want to eat dinner not because you know that your food is a health hazard, but because your stomach's queasy?"

"Yeah."

"So the food's perfectly edible and safe?"

"Uh, duh, I've been saying that for the longest."

"I see." Lukas picked up his fork and held it out to Mathias. "Then eat some."

Mathias's eyes widened. "W-what?"

"Eat some," Lukas repeated. "Go on, take a bite or two if it's not so bad."

"Lukas, did I not just say that my stomach's not up for-?"

"Don't be such a baby, Mathias, a bite or two isn't going to ruin your entire digestive tract."

"Ugh! Fine!" Mathias snatched the fork out of Lukas's hand and pierced it into a couple of pasta shells. He shoved them into his mouth and chewed them slowly before swallowing. "There! You see!"

"Huh, I guess it's okay, then," Lukas said. "We're okay here, people."

Mathias threw his hands up for a second time. "Finally! Thank you!" He held the fork out to Lukas. When Lukas only looked at it with a slight grimace, Mathias pouted. "What's wrong, now?"

"You used that fork," Lukas said.

"So?"

"I'm not going to use the same fork that you used and ingest your saliva!"

Mathias rolled his eyes and snorted. "Norge, seriously? You're afraid of a little spit? Seriously?" He leaned in close to Lukas's face and smiled wickedly, saying in a husky tone, "Must I remind you that I had put nastier, and may I say bigger, stuff in your mouth than some of my spit?"

"It isn't that much bigger than a drop of saliva," Lukas retorted as he snatched the fork back.

"What are they talking about?" Peter whispered to Tino.

"Nothing, son," Tino replied, covering Peter's ears.

"Hey, if I have to be mentally scarred at a young age by Mathias, then so should he," Emil declared as he picked up his own fork. He picked up a meatball and bit into it. After a few moments of chewing it and scooting it around his tongue, his face lit up. "Wow, this is really good!" he exclaimed as ate some of the pasta.

"Well, I guess there's a plus side to this dinner," Lukas said as he wiped away the bit of sauce and pasta on Emil's smiling lips, "it brought back the messy little eater I haven't seen in a long time." He chuckled when Emil glared at him. "So cute."

"Knock it off, Lukas! Stop being weird!" Emil snapped as he took the napkin out of Lukas's hand and wiped at his mouth.

"That's my napkin."

"And that's my fuck I didn't give."

Lukas turned back to his plate, feigning hurt. "...I liked it better when you were high on drugs." He stabbed his fork into a meatball and placed it in his mouth. "Hm...not bad."

"Oh! So, you were wrong, Norge? I make an excellent cook?"

"...Don't push it, Dane."

"Fine, fine, I won't; I have to go finish the ice cream, anyway."

"Ice cream?" Tino asked. "You have ice cream?"

"Yeah, I had made some while making dinner."

"Oh, you made chocolate chip mint?" Emil asked excitedly.

"Yep!"

"Um, Mathias, Peter doesn't like chocolate chip mint," Tino said.

"Oh, really? That's too bad; I didn't make any other flavor on the account of I didn't make it to please him."

"Geez, Mathias, you don't have to be a dick," Berwald grumbled.

"And why not? The way you spoil his ass, he'll be a bigger dick than I am."

"G-guys, it's okay," Peter spoke softly. He looked down at his plate, too afraid to meet Mathias's eyes. "I-I don't mind chocolate chip mint all that much; and besides, Uncle Mathias is right: it's Emil's dinner, so we have to eat what he likes." Everyone looked at Peter, shocked by how..._considerate _he sounded. Expect Mathias, who was smirking condescendingly at the boy.

"W-well, Peter, that's...nice of you," Tino said as he patted Peter's head. "So sweet!"

"About freaking time, too," Mathias interjected. He then smiled jovially and clapped. "Okay, so you guys finish this up while I go finish up that ice cream for you guys!"

He returned to the kitchen and walked up to the sorbetière on the counter, listening to the soft sounds of chatter from the dining room. He lifted the lid from the pail part of the sorbetière and looked inside at the green mass dotted with brown. "Just one more ingredient," he whispered to himself as he pulled out a small, clear jar. He unscrewed the lid and sprinkled the contents into the ice cream, emptying half the jar before putting the top back on and placing the jar in the drawer. He put the lid back on the sorbetière and slowly turned the crank, blending in the jar's content with the frozen dessert. When the sounds of utensils scraping against empty plates and sighs of content came from the dining room, Mathias took an ice cream scoop, bowls and spoons from the cupboard and carried those and the ice cream to the room.

"Mathias, that was simply delicious!" Tino said when Mathias appeared stacking his, Peter's, and Berwald's plates together. "Where did you learn to cook?"

"Veneziano, duh," Emil said.

"Actually, that's a recipe I had developed myself for a while," Mathias stated as he placed the sorbetière on the table and passed out bowls. "My citizens actually eat more pasta than Italians."

"Really? Wow, I would've thought that the Danish cuisine was just beer," Emil snickered.

Mathias waved the joke off. "Okay, so who wants some of this bad boy right here?"

"Pass it on here, dude!" Emil held his bowl out.

"Aw, how cute," Lukas cooed "Wittle Emil wants his ice cweam."

"Oh, my goodness, why don't you ever shut up?!" Nevertheless, he eagerly dug into the ice cream.

"Whatever," Lukas chuckled. He looked down at his bowl of ice cream. "Hey, what's all of this?" He picked up his spoon and prodded the ice cream. Among the dots of chocolate chips were something smaller, almost microscopic; it looked like the black beans of the vanilla bean ice cream, but it glittered red like crystal. Everyone stopped eating their ice cream to look in their bowls.

"Oh, those are some weird-ass flavor enhancing sprinkles Kiku offered me," Mathias said with a scowl. "He said that they're perfectly healthy and can be used for almost any dessert to make it sweeter, and since I made ice cream, I decided to use them today."

"But they're sparkling."

"I know, weird, right? Kiku didn't say why they do that, but I'm guessing that it's just to pretty up the dessert or something. And he complains about Alfred's food. Well, it's all fine, so dig in."

Lukas hesitantly took a small scoop of ice cream and tasted it. When he found that the ice cream tasted fine and even better than the professionally-made one he had at ice cream shops, he began eating more of it. Soon, everyone finished their serving of ice cream- and even eating seconds- and sat back in their seats with full stomachs.

"Best. Ice cream. Ever," Emil stated as he played with the spoon.

"Oh, well, tak så meget," Mathias said with a bow.

"Really, Mathias, I didn't know you had the talent to cook in you," Lukas said.

"Does my talent give me some extra midnight goodies in the sack?" Mathias whispered in Lukas's ear.

Lukas playfully shoved his face away. "Don't forget, moron, you made this dinner because you shot Emil-" he covered his mouth when he felt a gas bubble come up from his stomach. "Oh, excuse me," he coughed. He then frowned deeply. "Wh-what the-?"

Something was wrong with his stomach. It felt as if he was going to vomit, but instead of upchucking bile, his stomach was expanding and constricting, pumping itself. There was a tingling sensation that travelled from the organ to his veins, and his entire body began to itch insanely. His ears filled with annoying beeping noises, and his head was so dizzy that his vision blurred. He looked around at the table, and the others' sickly facial expressions told him he wasn't the only one who felt what he was feeling. He didn't even know that he was swooning in his seat until Mathias placed a hand on his shoulder and steadied him.

"Norge? Hey, Norge, are you okay?" Mathias's voice asked through the tiny beeping noises flooding Lukas's ear.

"W-what-?" was all Lukas could manage to say.

Mathias smiled down at Lukas. "I guess you guys had too much to eat," he chuckled. He picked Lukas up bridal style and carried him out of them dining room.

As the couple left, Lukas was able to see that the others passed out, either face flat on the table or heads hanging on the back of their chairs. Mathias carried Lukas upstairs to Lukas's bedroom, placed the moaning nation gently on his bed, and pulled his boots off. He then pulled the quilt up to Lukas's shoulders. The last image Lukas had before blacking out was Mathias smiling down gently at him again.

Mathias took a few moments to watch Lukas sleep peacefully, saddened by the effects the "sprinkles" were having on his lover, but was glad that it'll pass when he wakes. Mathias tilted Lukas's chin up and placed a kiss on his lips. "Rest well, my kitten," Mathias breathed when he ended the kiss.


	9. Fencing the Dogs In

A thousand apologies for the wait, you guys! *bows apologetically a thousand times* I suck when it comes to updating stories at a steady pace, and even suckier at writing at without getting distracted so easily. Why do you guys stick with such a sucky updater like me? And do you guys honestly know how much I love you for doing so? Because I do. ;u;

* * *

Mathias smiled down remorsefully at his lover as Lukas's eyes fluttered shut. "I'm sorry for making you sick like this, babe," he whispered softly and he gently stroke Lukas's bang from his forehead, "but it's just a side affect; it'll pass over as soon as you wake up, okay?"

He looked at the alarm clock on the bedside, which had turned five minutes pass seven. There was still sunlight outside, but judging by the light pink tint to the rays, the sun will be setting soon, and it'll become too dark to do his work outside. Bending down to give Lukas's forehead a kiss, Mathias said in a hushed voice, "I hate leaving you when you're this cute, Norge, but I gotta go take care of some business, okay, love?" He gave Lukas's hand a squeeze before walking towards the door, giving the peacefully unconscious nation a glance over his shoulder and leaving the room. He jogged down the stairs and through the living room to the dining room. He stopped at the doorway to look at the group of nations passed out around the dining table.

Chuckling in amusement, Mathias went to the table and, one by one, began carrying the nations upstairs. He pulled Berwald's arm around his shoulder, wrapped his arm around Berwald's waist, and stood him up from the chair. He then towed Berwald up to his bedroom, nudged the door open with his hip, and sat Berwald on the edge of his bed. With his shoulders slouched forward, Berwald was able to sit up and not fall over, his head bent down and arms hanging loosely in between his thighs; if it wasn't for the lax state his limbs were in, it would look like Berwald was contemplating something depressing. Mathias shuddered at the sight; it was disturbing to him how Berwald can sit up like that yet in his unconscious condition. He gave Berwald's shoulder a push and watched as Berwald fell backwards into the mattress.

_Much better, _Mathias thought as he walked back downstairs to the dining room. He stepped up to Tino, slowly pulled the chair out so Tino's body wouldn't fall over, and slid his arm under Tino's knees and behind his back to lift him bridal style. He carried him upstairs to the room Tino shared with Berwald and stepped up to the bed. He laid Tino on the bed next to Berwald, folding him into a curling ball so that his legs wouldn't hang over the edge and cause future discomfort. He then went to their closet, too out their spare quilt, and unfurled it over the couple and tucking it in.

Mathias returned to the dining room and stood behind Emil, sliding Emil's chair out from under the table. He slid his hands under Emil's shoulders, pick him up to his feet, and with great precision and speed, slung Emil backwards on his shoulder so that Emil's back curved over Mathias's shoulder, making the teen's front arch upward. Mathias carried him to his bedroom, pulled the blanket on the bed back, and flung Emil face forward onto the bed, his face buried into the pillow. Mathias then slid the blanket on top of Emil's body and turned his head to its side so that the boy's face wouldn't be smothered by the pillow. Mathias smiled at the teen; even though Emil said those years ago that he and Lukas didn't look the same, the family similarities could be seen when they were asleep: pouty lips that curled upwards in a good dream, eyebrows that knit together just slightly as if they were really concentrating on the events happening in their sleep world, and pink that tinted their cheeks, a rosy blush against their otherwise pallid faces.

Mathias made his last stop in the dining room to pick up the micronation that was still sitting at the table. Just as he had with Tino, Mathias pulled Peter's chair out, picked the child up, and cradled him as he took him upstairs to the pirate-themed bedroom. He dropped Peter onto the boat-like bed and removed the hat from his head. Mathias made a move to retrieve the extra blanket from that bedroom's closet, but something caught his eye.

Just as with the pajamas, Peter's shirt was ruffled, exposing the creamy skin of his stomach. It made Mathias's own skin crawl and his spine tingle. Mathias licked his lips; his mouth somehow went dry and made drool at the same time. Mathias stood there, his eyes glued to that one area of flesh, his mind racing with bits and images of that night he had with the boy. Letting his urge take the best of him, Mathias bent over and placed his mouth on the skin, sucking in the flesh and letting the tip of his tongue prod at it. _So delicious, _he thought.

As he began to nip the stomach with his teeth and slide his fingers beneath the hem of Peter's shorts, Peter stirred and moaned in his sleep. The unexpected movement caused Mathias to instinctively reel his head back and snatch his hand away, as if already caught in the middle of the act. He stared at Peter, watching to see if he was actually awake. When Peter did no such thing, Mathias stood up straight and slapped himself in the face, effectively cooling the heat firing in front of his pelvis.

_Damn it, Mathias, control yourself! _Mathias mentally scolded himself. _You have a job to do! This is _not _the time to get freaking horny! _He glanced at the unconscious boy, the spot were he was toying the flesh with his teeth already bruised a light red. ..._Work now, reward later._ Almost reluctantly, Mathias moved away from the bed to get the blanket and placed it on the small body. He then left the room and slowly closed the door, a part of him still reluctant to leave the micronation's body untouched.

With everyone settled comfortably in their beds, Mathias took advantage of another solitary night by setting off with his next move. Happily strolling to his study, Mathias went over the next act in his head. He went behind his desk, rolled the computer chair away, and peeked underneath the desk. Within the dark corner was a small duffel bag standing on its end, pushed away to hide from curious eyes. He reached for the straps, pulled it out, and slid it on his shoulder. He left the study, locked the door with his key, and speed walked through the hallway, down the stairs, and through the kitchen to leave the house through the back door.

Once exited from the mansion, Mathias walked to a corner of the mansion's foundation and squatted next to it. He pulled the duffel bag off his shoulder and settled it onto the grass, unzipping the bag and sifting through the content. He pulled out a measuring tape, a trovel, an instructions booklet, and a strange-looking black object. It was like a scepter with a switch on top, four infrared readers in the corners of bulky upper piece, and sharp, pointed tip at the bottom. Mathias opened the booklet pass the Japanese instructions and skimmed over the unimportant details, reading straight into the directions.

" 'Measure from the foundation of the house at twenty five centimeters', " Mathias read aloud, " 'and mark area. Dig a hole at area fifteen centimeters deep. Firmly work the readers into the hole, refill hole with soil, and pat firmly to keep the readers in place.' Hm, seems simple enough." He then read more of the instructions, and a frown crested his face. "...Until you get to the technological stuff." He began to work, following the instructions and measuring the specified length. After measuring the length, he took his small trovel, pierced it into the grass and soil, dug for a few minutes, and paused to measure how far he dug. He then dug the hole some more until he reached the desired level. He picked up the scepter-like tool, stabbed in into the hole, and pushed the unearthed soil into the hole with it. He pat the soil around the object until it felt packed tightly, and pressed on the switch. With the final, most vital piece not installed yet, the tool wasn't functioning yet.

Mathias walked to the next corner behind the mansion and repeated the installation process there with the second, identical piece. When that was finished, Mathias turned the corner and went to the front of the house, pressing his foot firmly into the ground as the flat land began to slope downward as a hill. He carefully crouched down to the corner and held the duffel bag close to his body this time, fearing that setting it down would make it roll down the hill and into the pond below. He worked more slowly with the bag straps in his hands, and he carefully stood and scaled the mansion's side after finishing placing the tool in that area. He sidestepped closely along the mansion's walls, moving to the front of the building and the other side to get to the last corner of the mansion. He carefully crouched in that corner, did the measurements, dug the needed hole, and planted the last tool into the ground.

He sidestepped to the front doors and stepped inside the mansion just as the last bit of sunlight gave way to the dark, starry night sky. Closing the door and leaning against it, Mathias sighed loudly and looked into his bag. Inside the bag with the booklet and dirty trovel was a flat, rectangular, silver case with an electrical cord running out from a corner, an antennae from the other corner, and three color-coded wire inputs on the opposite side. Mathias took the silver case out of the bag and lifted the waterproof lid. Inside were a number keypad, a screen, and a dial with a little red arrow that pointed to labels that read from _10x _to _100x. _

Mathias turned the dial to the maximum label beforehand and closed the lid. _I'll install this last thing tomorrow morning or something, _Mathias said as he yawned. He walked upstairs to his room to make up for the months of sleep deprivation, shoving the duffel bag and the silver-encased activator within it under his bed for the next day.


	10. I Touch You

In the dimly-lit lower levels of the mansion, Emil hobbled through the wine cellar to the door connecting the cellar to the laundry room, cradling a basket of dirty laundry between his arm and his hip. Once he passed through the door, he hobbled to the joining washing machine and dryers and dropped the basket at his feet. He turned around and leaned back against the washer, taking out his cell phone from his pocket. He tapped on the screen with his thumb to get to his Twitter application and pressed it. He waited for it to load, and when it loaded, he logged on to his account and tapped on the textbox to create a post.

'Ugh! So sick of having these damn stitches! Wish they'd fully heal, already! Sick of Lukas making a damn fuss over me, man!'

Emil confirmed the post and logged off his account, setting his phone on the dryer and going to work on the laundry. He stood on his toes to reach the large container of detergent sitting on the shelf above the machines, ignoring the burning tingle prickling around his ankle and pulling the container down. He uncapped the detergent and used the cap to measure the needed amount for his load when a buzzing rattle sounded from beside him. He set down the detergent and cap with a knowing smile. He picked up the vibrating phone without looking at the caller ID and pressed the green "Send" button to answer it. He put the phone to his ear.

"Emil, _what the hell?!_"

"Wow, it hasn't even been a full minute, yet, that's a new record for you!" Emil chuckled. "Hey, Kaoru~."

"Emil, why the hell do you do have stitches? What the fuck happened?"

"Geez, sailor tone down the potty mouth, will you?" Emil teased. "I'm almost too afraid to tell you if you're going to swear at me like that."

Kaoru sighed into the phone. "Emil, what happened? Come on, I'm scared!"

Emil smiled sweetly, touched at the worried tone Kaoru spoke with. "Alright, fine, I'll tell you. You know how I'm pretty much stuck in Denmark with my Nordic brothers?"

"Yes."

"And how Mathias has the tendency to make us do stupid shit in the name of 'brotherly bonding'?"

"Yeah...?"

Emil bent over the washing machine and propped his elbows on top of it, using one hand to hold the phone to his ear and the other to rest his chin on. "Well, he made us go out into the forest to hunt with these really cool rifles that the Swiss dude gave to him, and they have these awesome phoenix rhinestone thingies on the barrel-"

"Emil..."

"Oh, um, r-right. Anyway, we went out to the forest, looked for something to kill for dinner, but I was just strolling through the forest and listening to some songs to past the time. Apparently, I have deer legs because Mathias shot me. Twice."

Kaoru gasped quietly. "Twice?!" He yelled.

"Yeah. In the front and back of my ankle. Hurt like hell, too!" Emil laughed.

"Emil, that's not funny!"

Emil stopped laughing abruptly and frowned; for as long as he dated Kaoru, he'd never heard Kaoru snap like that. _He must be really worried. _"H-hey, man, chill, okay? It's not even that serious."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, _really. _The doctor said I was lucky because the bullets just grazed a couple layers of flesh and sinew, just beneath the skin or something. The stitches are shallow, too, so the wound should heal soon."

"How soon?"

"He- the doctor- said that I need about four to five weeks. Since I'm a nation, though, I'm guessing I only needed about three weeks."

"Oh, so how long do you need, now?"

"Two weeks."

"Wait a damn second! You mean to tell me that you've been like this for a _week _and didn't bother to tell me?! What the hell, Emil?!"

"Hey! _Language, _Kaoru! And I wasn't able to because we're in a forest. The connection service here is so freaking sketchy; one minute it's perfectly fine, the next minute, nothing. Nothing at all. So I couldn't call you or text you or chat with you on Facebook even if I wanted to."

"...And you did want to, right?"

Emil chuckled again. "Of course I did; I miss you."

"I miss you too, babe," Kaoru said; Emil could almost hear the loving smile in his voice. He then paused. "...That does seem a bit too strange though."

"What?"

"The fact that he shot you. I can see that it was an accident if it was only like one shot, but two? In the front _and _back? That just sounds too sketchy, bro."

"Maybe there were two shots because the gun was too powerful to stop at just one shot. I mean, Kaoru, those guns are high-capacity semi-automatic rifles, and just pulling the trigger once can send off a whole round of ammo. I was lucky to just get out alive with only two bullets in me." He heard Kaoru giggling in the other end. "What?"

"Look at you, sounding like some NRA freak! Ah ha ha ha! But still, I feel something's not right with that whole 'accidental shot' story. I'd watch my back around him if I were you, Emil."

Emil hung his head. "Ugh, Kaoru, you and your weird, superstitious mumbo jumbo! Relax, okay? Mathias was doing nothing but apologizing to me when we went to the hospital and back; he even carried me on his back and made me dinner to make up for what he did."

"Whoa, he made you dinner? And you're still alive?!"

Emil stretched out a leg behind him and started to tap his toe into the floor. "It was pretty alright at first. He made this really awesome pasta dish with meatballs, and it was out of this world! I never knew he could cook. But then...then he served ice cream. That was delicious, too, and it was my favorite flavor, but then we all just...passed out." He snapped his fingers. "Just like that."

"Whoa. That's so freaky."

"It gets freakier, too. We all woke up a day later and our bodies felt weird. In fact, my body _still _feels weird. It feels tingly and prickly, like there are some little electric bugs swimming inside me and zapping my pores or something."

"Really?" Kaoru started to sound distant. "Huh, that sounds...so familiar...for some reason..."

"Kaoru?"

"...Isn't Kiku working on-?"

"Kaoru, hello?!"

"Oh, uh, sorry, dude! I spaced out for a second. Anyway, how's everybody doing?"

"Everybody's doing okay, I suppose. Except for Peter. For some odd reason, he started to act really weird. He's not so bratty anymore, in fact, he's not acting bratty at all, especially when Mathias is around. He's quiet and jumpy and he's sleeping in late a lot and keeps complaining about back pain or something. I think a couple of days ago he started getting irregular bloody diarrhea." Emil shuddered at a memory. "Ugh, those poor couch cushions! Man, did Mathias throw a fit over that!"

"...Emil?"

"What?"

"I'm not so sure about this because I'm not a professional, but it sounds like Peter was maybe...hurt, or something..."

"Hurt? What do you mean?"

"What I mean is that you may have a pedo in the house, Emil."

"What? What the hell are you talking about? No one would do that to Peter!"

"Emil, just hear me out, okay?" Kaoru sighed. "I remember reading a book or two out of boredom and they said that everything that Peter is doing fits the signs of a touched child: suddenly quiet, needs lots of sleep from low energy, and even being physically ill. Tell me, Emil, has he been totally withdrawn and having nightmares?"

"How the hell am I supposed to know if the kid had nightmares? I'm not his parent; he doesn't come to me if he has a bad dream." Emil paused and looked away. "But I have noticed that he isn't as...'playful' as he usually was."

"Right, and you said that he's more quiet when Mathias is around him, right?"

"Yeah...? Whoa, wait, man, Mathias wouldn't do something like that! I mean, yeah, he's a prick who has a sort of violent streak, and he picks on people too much, especially Peter, but Mathias is no pedophile! I've known him for too long, and he isn't the type to hurt people in _that _way, especially little defenseless kids!"

"Emil, it's just a possibility-"

"And that possibility is wrong! Didn't those same studies also say that those signs don't automatically mean the child is suffering molestation?"

"Well, yeah, but still-"

"And since Mathias isn't that big of a pervert, then you're wrong! Maybe the kid is just feeling homesick."

"Homesick? Really? Emil, do you think that homesickness can get so bad that it causes bloody diarrhea and back pain?"

Emil sighed. "Kaoru, this is making me sick to my stomach. Can we stop talking about this?"

"Why? Mathias didn't touch you, did he?"

"NO! He didn't because he _wouldn't do something like that!_ I know, Kaoru, I just know."

There was a pause in the phone as Kaoru sighed and let Emil calm down. "...Okay, Emil, if you really feel that way, then I won't push the idea any further. Just promise me that you'll at least watch out for Mathias and stay safe."

"Kaoru-"

"Please? For me? So that I'll know you're safe?"

"Kaoru, he doesn't-"

"Pwetty pwease?" Kaoru cooed. Emil can imagine Kaoru poking out his bottom lip in a begging pout, and it killed him how easy he can comply to Kaoru just by imagining it.

"Ugh, fine! I promise I'll stay safe or whatever, okay?"

"Good...You know I love you, right?"

Emil grinned widely. "Heh, yeah, I know. I love you, too, you manipulative bastard."

"Aw, why am I manipulative?"

"Because you used your cute begging voice and I knew that you were doing that cute little pouty thing with your lip and you know how that gets me too warm and fuzzy to say no!"

"Heh heh heh, you're just putty in my hands," Kaoru chuckled.

"You know, it isn't nice to use your power for evil," Emil replied in a sing-song voice.

"Oh, don't worry babe, when I have you in my hands, you know that I only do things that make you feel good," Kaoru purred.

"Oh, really, what kinds of 'good things'?" Emil purred back.

"Well, I learned this new thing with my pinky-" The boy went silent.

"H-hello? Kaoru?" Emil said. "Hello?" He pulled the phone away and looked at the screen, which read: "Service Unavailable."

"Stupid cockblocking phone!" Emil spat at the device before shoving it into his pocket. He picked up the basket of clothes, yanked open the washing machine's lid, and dumped the clothes inside it. He poured in the detergent, turned on the machine, and slammed the lid close when the wash started. "Ugh, Kaoru's gonna kick my ass when he sees me."

After waiting five minutes for the wash, Emil looked around the room to make sure that he was really alone and pulled out his iPod. He powered up his device, flipped through the playlists until he selected one. He selected a song from the playlist and put the ear buds in his ear. As the song began, he did a little slow, swaying dancing, bobbing his head heavily. His hair swung gently from side to side, brushing his forehead and ears. When the song came into its chorus, he started to sing:

_"For freedom we rise! Learn to fly, reach the sky! Legend will carry you for thousands of miles! Take a stand, hold the land. Make sure that everyone's ready to win! Flight and speed's all we need! Team up for battle, we fly! Fly! We fly! Gravity hurts!"_

Lost in his musical world yet again, Emil failed to sense that he gained an audience during his little dance. The watcher came in as the song went into the second verse and leaned against the threshold in the cellar-laundry room doorway, arms crossed over his chest and a coy grin across his face as Emil sang his heart out.

_"Aw~! Creatures keep calling, reaching within. Stealthy they climb from the dark! Yeah-eh, yeah-eh. Searching for wisdom. Searching for truth. Show us the things you can do!" _Emil pointed to the space in front of him. _"Maybe it's all up to you! You-oh! For freedom we rise! Learn to fly, reach the sky! Legend will carry you thousands of miles! Take a stand, hold the land. Make sure that everyone's ready to win! Flight and speed's all you need! Team up for battle we fly! Fly!"_

Emil's one-man audience pushed himself off the threshold and walked over to the singing teen nation as he started bobbing his head harder and playing an air guitar. He stood behind Emil and shoved his hands into his pockets, bobbing his head along with Emil and chuckling. Just when he reached out to put a hand on Emil's shoulder, Emil tossed his head back and shot his fist in the air, ending the guitar solo with a powerful:

_"FOR FREEDOM WE RIIIIIIIIISE! FOR FREEDOM WE RIIIIIIIIISE! FOR THOUSANDS OF MILES! OH, YEEEEEEEAH! YEAH, YEAH, YEAH-EH-EH-EH! YEEEEAH!"_

Emil's watcher jumped and pulled his hand back with a sort of goofy, amused grin. When he was sure the song was over, he gently grabbed Emil's shoulder.

"Wah!" Emil yelped. He jumped and spun around, clutching his speeding heart tightly. "What the-? Mathias, what the hell?!"

Mathias let out a howl of laughter. "Oh, man, Ice, I didn't know you had some sweet moves!"

"What the hell are you doing here?" Emil asked as he took out his ear buds and paused his iPod.

Mathias tilted his head and cocked an eyebrow. "Uh...I live here?"

Emil rolled his eyes. "I meant what are you doing here in the basement?"

"I own this basement."

Emil growled and turned back to the washing machine. "Never mind it."

"Aw, dude, I'm just fooling with you," Mathias said as he ruffled Emil's hair. "I was just taking a break from installing the satellite for Internet connection and came down here to get a beer from the cellar. Then I heard you screeching lyrics like a crazy baboon and see you dancing! Man, that was fun to see!"

"Go away!"

"Aw, don't pout!" Mathias put his arm around Emil's shoulder and brought his face next to Emil's. "I still liked it, you know. That was Cryoshell, right?"

Emil sniffed. "Yeah."

"AW! You like one of my bands! I always knew you thought I was cool!"

"Oh, shut up, Mathias!" Emil said as he shrugged off Mathias's arm. "Just because I like a band that happened to be Danish doesn't mean that I think you're cool in any shape or form! You're still an idiotic asshole to me."

"Oh, you hurt me so, Icey!" Mathias whimpered. He then pulled Emil's head into his chest in a tight hug. "But it's still cool that you like one of my bands! We have something in common!"

"Please! The only reason you like the band is because they originated in your country! Have you ever even _listened_ to any of their songs? Tried to understand them?"

"Oh, great, another indie hipster! Dude, if I didn't listen to the band, then I wouldn't have known whose song you were butchering, right? So calm the fuck down with that whole unknown music passion shit or whatever the hell it's called."

Emil opened and closed his mouth, unsure on how to respond to the insult. He settled for shoving Mathias off, crossing his arms, and directing his glare to an invisible object on the floor. The whole act made Mathias laughed and ruffle Emil's hair again. Emil scoffed and slapped Mathias's hand away.

"Aw, don't get so pissy, Ice!" Mathias cooed mockingly, reaching for Emil's head again. "You know I love ya!"

"Go away," Emil spat, swatting away Mathias's hand again.

Mathias looked at his assaulted hand and shrugged. "Whatever, dude. Anyway, even though I like Cryoshell, none of their songs are my most favorite song of all time."

Emil glanced at Mathias from the corner of his eyes. "Really?"

"Yeah, really. There's this really old song that I absolutely love." Mathias looked up towards the ceiling and tapped his finger on his chin in thought. "Hm, I don't recall the band who wrote it- maybe Divinity, Divine, Deville, I dunno- but it was awesome, Ice! I used to sing it to Lukas a lot a couple of decades back." He cleared his throat and sang in a throaty, falsetto voice:

_"I love myself. I want you to love me. When I feel down, I want you above me. I search myself. I want you to find me. When I forget myself, I want you to remind me. I don't want anybody else! When I think about you, I touch myself. Oh~! I don't want anybody else. Oh no, oh no, oh no~."_

Emil stared at Mathias, gaping in a combination of disgust and amusement. "Holy crap, seriously?" He chuckled after a few moments of silence. "That masturbation song?"

"Oh, so you have heard of it?" Mathias chuckled.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I have, Mathias. Don't forget I was around during that time, too." Emil giggled and shook his head. "I can see why you like that song, though. That singer was so... needy and into herself, just like you are."

"Am not!"

"Are too! I bet that if Lukas didn't exist and that nobody else wanted to fuck you, you'd just fap to a picture of yourself!"

"Oh, come on! I could find someone else to masturbate to if I didn't have my kitten."

"Oh, really? Like who?"

"Um, I don't really know, exactly," Mathias shrugged.

"Hmph! Exactly my point!" Emil turned to the washing machine and peeked inside it to check on his clothes.

Mathias pocketed his hands and watched the boy's back with a bored expression, humming the tune to the song and tapping his feet. He then started to sing the song quietly, tilting his head from side to side. When he noticed that Emil was rocking his head too, he smiled to himself and sang louder.

_"You're the one who makes me come running. You're the sun that makes me shine. When you're around I'm always laughing. I wanna make you mine. I close my eyes and see you before me. Think I would die if you were to ignore me. A fool could see just how much I adore you. I'd get down on my knees. I'd do anything for you."_

Emil started swaying to Mathias's singing, giggling and humming along. Jus like when he put in his ear buds to listen to his private music, Emil was too lost in the song to notice what was happening. Mathias came up closer behind Emil, doing a little dance of his own. He looked down at the boy.

_"I don't want anybody else! When I think about you, I touch myself. Oh~! I don't want anybody else. Oh no, oh no, oh no~. Yeah~."_

He kept repeating the chorus, watching the oblivious boy below him dance happily. He lightly pressed his hips against Emil and waited for Emil to respond negatively, sniggering when Emil continued to sway, unwittingly brushing himself on Mathias's crotch. _Wow, this kid is really out of it, _Mathias noted as he slowly wrapped his arms around Emil's waist and brought his mouth to Emil's ear.

"I don't want anybody else," Mathias whispered in Emil's ear as he pushed down some of his bodyweight on the teen. "When I think about you, I touch myself..."

The lack of melody in Mathias's voice pulled Emil back into reality. He started to push at Mathias's arms. "Mathias, what are you doing?" he asked in a deadpan tone, too used to Mathias's hijinks to think seriously of the situation

"Singing, what does it look like?" Mathias replied.

"No, you idiot, I mean this."

"Oh, this? Nothing really, just that..." Mathias started to push Emil into the washing machine, breathing heavily into his ear. "Just showing you who'd I touched myself to if Lukas wasn't around..."

"Ha ha ha, very funny, you dork." Emil attempted to push himself away from the washing machine, but Mathias pushed him back. A little too roughly, he noticed. "M-Mathias, seriously, knock it off, already." He started to wriggle in Mathias's arms, but Mathias's grip was tightening every second. "Seriously, Mathias! This is why people don't have fun with you, you don't know when to end a joke!" He froze when he heard a dark, contemptuous chuckle.

"Who the fuck said I was joking?"

"W-what? Dude, let go!" Emil dug his fingers into Mathias's arms to pry them open. It was useless, though, as Mathias pushed Emil completely bent over the washing machine. "Seriously, stop! Mathias! What the hell?! _Stop!_" He started to hyperventilate when he felt large hands grope around for his belt. "Please...!"

Mathias pulled his hand away from Emil's hips and snaked his fingers into Emil's hair, pulling his head back with the silvery locks. "Geez, Ice, take a deep breath before you pass out, already! I don't wanna fuck a comatose kid. Man, it's like you're a virgin, or something. Wait, you aren't one, are you?"

"Mathias, get off!"

"Oh, wow, seriously?!" Mathias laughed. "You're still a virgin? And you've been dating that Kaoru kid for how long? Fine, then, listen. If you don't struggle so much and calm down, I'll make your first time easier for you, okay?"

"No!" Emil shouted as he felt Mathias's fingers under his shirt.

* * *

_Ugh, no more food from Mathias, _Lukas swore to himself as he sluggishly made his way to the kitchen. He lightly held his stomach in his hand and took deep breaths to get rid of the lightheadedness he was suffering. It was a week since that failure of a dinner Mathias made for the household, the dinner that caused everyone to get sick and pass out right where they sat, but the stomachaches and nausea reoccurred from time to time, and this time, it had hit Lukas hard. _What the hell was in that pasta...?_

Lukas took a drinking glass from the kitchen cupboard and went to the refrigerator. He poked his head inside to look for any ginger ale, feeling relief at the cold temperature hitting his face.

"W-wait! Mathias, my stitches! You're going to mess up my stitches!"

Lukas pulled his head out of the refrigerator and looked around the kitchen questioningly. _Was that...?_

"Don't worry, it's not like I'm gonna fuck your leg or something. Just chill."

_Mathias...?_

"Mathias, don't do this!" Emil cried. "Please..."

Despite the nauseating feeling that made him want to vomit moments before, Lukas sprinted to the door that led to the cellar of the mansion, his drinking glass shattering on the floor behind him. He yanked it open and rushed inside, following the voices of his little brother and his boyfriend.

"Ugh, Emil, will you stop acting like such a little girl man boy? Damn, it's just sex!"

"You're hurting me! Stop! Ow! _Stop!_"

Lukas sped through the labyrinth of wine shelves, confused at the multiple directions the echoing shouts were coming from.

"You know, I'm starting to like it when you struggle like this!"

_Damn it, where are they?! _Lukas started to panic. _Where are they? Wait, Emil said he was going to wash clothes! He has to be in there!_

"Stop! Let go! Don't touch me! Mathias!"

_I'm coming, Emil! _Lukas spotted a large streak of light from the doorway of the laundry room. As he ran towards it and the sounds of struggling, his senses seemed to slow to prepare for what he hoped wasn't what he thought it was.

"Mathias, stop! Please! Come on! _LUKAS!"_

Lukas shot into the laundry room and tackled Mathias into the ground. He struck his fist into Mathias's jaw once, twice, thrice, before yanking the man up by the shirt collar and snarling in his face, "What the fuck do you think you're doing?!"

"Ow! Lukas, calm down! Damn, what's wrong with you?!" Mathias tried to shove Lukas off his body, but Lukas pushed his hand away and shook him by the shirt collar violently, making his head rock back and forth wildly.

"What the fuck were you doing to my brother?!" Lukas demanded as he slammed his fist into Mathias's jaw again.

"Lukas, wait!" Emil shouted. He took Lukas's arm and pulled him off. "Don't do this!"

Lukas stared at his brother incredulously. "Don't do this? _Don't do this?! _I come in here to find my little brother almost raped and you're trying to calm me down so I won't beat the shit out of this rapist?!"

"Rape? Norge, what the fuck are you talking about?" Mathias shouted as he stood on his feet. "I wasn't going to rape Emil! What kind of nasty shit are you thinking?!"

"What the hell is this, then?!" Lukas yanked Emil in front of Mathias and gestured to the messy hair, unbuckled belt, and sloppy tee shirt.

"I was just joking around, okay? I guess...I guess I got too carried away with the joke, but I wasn't going to rape him! God, Lukas, you and your fucking sick mind!"

" 'Joking?!' Fuck that! I oughtta fucking _kill_ you!"

"No, stop! Lukas! He's right!" Emil pleaded, gripping his older brother's wrist. "It was just...it was just him being an asshole again, okay? He wasn't...wasn't going to do anything, alright? Y-you know him, he's just too stupid to know when to stop! So just stop this!"

"But Emil-!"

"Lukas, stop! Please!"

The room went silent as Emil and Lukas stared each other down, willing each other to back off and let him defend his loved one or to let the entire situation go. Mathias looked back and forth between the two brothers, arms crossed impatiently over his chest. Then, with an annoyed huff, he pushed past Lukas and stormed off. "You Bondevicks and your damn humorless minds! Learn to joke around a bit more."

Lukas turned on his heel to go after Mathias, but was held down by Emil. "Hey, where do you think you're going, you ass? I'm not finished with you!"

"Yeah, well, I'm finished with you two," Mathias said at the doorway. "I'm going back outside to finish installing that Wi-Fi satellite. Don't wait up, precious."

Lukas glared at the Dane's back as he and his little brother stood in the laundry room, his teeth bared in a wolf sneer and his fists shaking at his sides. Emil refastened his belt and combed his fingers through his hair to smooth it back down.

"...I should kill that motherfucker right now," Lukas snarled in the heavy silence.

"And _why _would you do that, Lukas?" Emil snapped.

"Why?! Emil, look at you-!"

"I've already told you that it was just him fooling around like an idiot! He does that and you've known him long enough to know that! Let it go!" Emil started to walk away, but Lukas grabbed his wrist and pulled him back.

Lukas took a deep breath to calm his nerves and said in a low, firm voice, "Emil, I know what I saw and you know, too. If Mathias was going to do to you what I think he was going to do, then I as your big brother must protect you by killing the motherfucker. Do you understand?"

Emil snatched his wrist away and replied in the same low, firm voice, "And I know what was really going on, okay? You know Mathias and know that he wouldn't do something like- like _that _to a person, at least not anymore. He's not a Viking anymore, and you should just leave me alone! Understand?!" Emil turned away to leave.

"Emil..."

"Lukas, please," Emil said; Lukas could sense the fear and weariness in his voice. "Please just...just leave it alone." Emil exited the laundry room, leaving Lukas to gape after him in heartache.


	11. Let the Games Begin!

He couldn't sleep.

No matter how firm the mattress was to suit his needs or how downy the quilt was, no matter how many long he stared up into those fluffy white clouds on his ceiling that could make even the most insomniac person drift off into the bliss of sleep, Lukas couldn't end the barrage of what-ifs from storming his tired mind. He tossed and turned in his bed, his skull pounding with unused fury and scenarios.

_I should've killed that son of a bitch._

_What if I didn't come in time to rescue Emil?_

_Was Mathias really going to attack him?_

_Is Mathias really that type of man?_

_Why did Emil stop me?_

_Is Emil doing okay_...?

Lukas sat up in his bed and tossed the quilt back. He swung his legs out of the bed and onto the floor, standing up from the mattress and walking towards his door. He needed to hear the truth of what happened- what _could've _happened- straight from Emil.

Moreso, he needed Emil to realize the truth himself.

* * *

Quietly padding barefoot out into the hall, Lukas crept to the door of his younger brother's bedroom and pressed his ear against it to hear any sounds of consciousness. When silence greeted his ear, Lukas tried the doorknob, saw that it was unlocked, and twisted it and pushed the door open. He stuck his head inside and squinted in the darkness towards the bed, just barely making out the small frame under the thick blanket. Lukas stepped inside, closed the door behind himself, and noiselessly tiptoed towards the bed. He sat down on the edge and looked down at the back of Emil's head, the silver strands messily splayed all over his pillow. Lukas reached out a hand to gently shake his brother's shoulder to wake him.

"What do you want, Lukas?" Emil spoke without turning his head.

Lukas lowered his hand and replied, "I can't sleep."

"You're not sleeping in my bed."

"No, it's not that. I can't sleep without talking to you about something."

"Whatever it is, can't it wait?" Emil asked tiredly. "It's freaking late for chatting."

"No, it can't wait. We have to talk about what happened earlier today-"

"And what the hell happened, Lukas?"

Lukas felt his face scrunch up in irritation. "You know what happened, Emil! You know what was going to happen if I hadn't intervened, and you denying it isn't going to make things better!"

Emil turned on his back and propped himself up on his elbows. "Lukas, he was joking, okay? You and I both know that Mathias is an idiot who takes jokes too far; he's not the type of person to rape or anything that perverse!"

"He was before!"

"And so were you, but you don't see me shoving your Viking history down your throat!"

"That's because I wasn't trying to rape you or anyone else!"

"And neither was he! Now will you just let it go and let me sleep?!"

"Not until you acknowledge what he was doing- which was attempted rape- so that I can kill that motherfucker!"

Emil scoffed and rolled his eyes. "If you're so damn sure that he was going to attack me, then why the hell do you need my permission to seek revenge?"

"Because," Lukas sighed, "for starters, what should be done to him should be decided by you, since you were his victim-"

"I'm not his-"

"_Second, _if I do hurt him, you'd just hate me for it, even though it's my brotherly duty. Third, and most importantly, this denial of what happened, what could've happened, and just labeling it as something else isn't healthy for you."

"Feh, whatever." Emil turned onto his side and pulled his blanket over his head.

"Whatever?! Emil, is that all you can say when I'm only trying to help you? 'Whatever'?"

"Fine," Emil said. "Please lock the door on your way out. Thanks and good night."

Lukas crossed his arms and scowled. "Emil, I'm not leaving until-"

"Lukas, please," Emil said quietly, yet loud enough to break through the blanket. "Please just drop it, okay? I'm exhausted and I need some sleep."

"You're emotionally exhausted because you're bottling up your fear and pain!"

"OH, MY GOD, DAMN!" Emil shot up. "Why the hell are you still here?! You know what? Fine! Stay here! _I'll _leave!" Emil jumped out of bed, snatched away a pillow, and went to his closet to grab a spare blanket.

"Hey, where the hell do you think you're going?" Lukas stood up quickly and stalked after Emil.

"I'm going to sleep somewhere with a lock or something." Emil yanked the bedroom door open and looked back. "Stay here and yap about rape all you want, just don't come bugging me about it!" Emil stomped out the room and started walking down the hall.

"Hold on just a second! We're not finished!" Lukas followed and grabbed Emil's shoulder, turning him around to meet Emil's eyes with his own. "Emil, talk to me about this! I'm your brother, and I only want to help!"

"Why the hell do you keep insisting that something happened when it didn't?!"

"_YOU NEEDED MY HELP! YOU FUCKING _CALLED_ MY NAME!_"

"_THAT DOESN'T MEAN A DAMN THING!_"

"Whoa, what's going on?" A sleepy voice yawned through the yelling. The two brothers turned to find Tino and Berwald walking towards them, Tino rubbing his eyes and yawning again. Peter was latched onto Tino's arm and had his head leaning against Tino, meaning that for the fourth night in a row, Peter slept in his parents' bedroom again to escape the horrors of his untold nightmares.

"It's nothing, Tino," Emil grumbled. "Sorry for waking you guys. Good night." Emil made a move to leave, but Lukas stopped him again.

"_No_, it isn't _nothing_. I'm trying to talk to Emil to help him, but he's being difficult and going in denial and it's not helping him at all!"

"What're you trying to help him with?" Berwald asked despite his sleepiness.

"He just needs help feeding his imagination and trying to make it real!" Emil stared pointed into Lukas's eyes. "Nothing. Happened."

"Saying 'nothing happened' isn't going to make it nonexistent." Lukas said back with the same venom.

"It does when it's the truth!"

"What are you guys talking about?" Tino asked, his mind more awake with his curiosity growing.

"Nothing!"

"Earlier today, I caught Mathias in the laundry room downstairs trying to rape my brother!"

A little gasp sounded. "You too, Emil?!"

Silence. The older nations' faces registered shock as they all turned their eyes down to the smallest nation of them all. Peter, realizing his slip of the tongue, awoke fully and cringed at the others' stares. He squeezed his eyes shut. _Oh, crud! Why did I just blurt that out? He's right, I don't know when to shut up!_

"Peter, what was that?" Tino said.

Peter shook his head. "Nothing, Mama."

"No, Peter, you said something. What did you say?"

"He said 'you too'," Berwald repeated, scrutinizing his son with concern in his eyes.

Tino took Peter's shoulder and turned him so they faced each other. "Peter, what do you mean by 'you too'?"

"I d-didn't mean a-anything by it," Peter stammered. "I-I didn't even say it!"

"Peter, are you keeping something from us?" Tino asked. Peter shook his head rapidly, which made the Finn sigh. "Peter, please, tell me the truth. Did your Uncle Mathias hurt you?"

"No, he didn't..." Peter muttered, hanging his head to hide his face.

Tino then heard a sniffle escape his son's mouth, and he watched with heartache as his son's shoulders started shaking with inaudible sobs. As Berwald rubbed soothing circles in the boy's back, Tino lowered himself on a knee and lifted Peter's face by his chin. "Look at me."

Peter turned his eyes toward his mother's face.

"Peter, do you remember that talk we had about when adults do stuff to younger children like yourself?" Peter nodded. "And when your father and I told you what rape is?" Peter nodded again. "Do you remember we telling you that if such a thing happened to you, you must tell us or the next trusted adult so we can help you?" Peter nodded a third time, this time rubbing his eyes with the back of his wrist to wipe away oncoming tears.

Tino wiped the streak of tears off Peter's cheeks and gently pulled down Peter's hand from his eyes to maintain eye contact. "Baby, you know that your father and I would _never _blame you for something like that, right? You know that you can trust us and tell us." Peter looked at Tino with watery eyes and nodded, making a small sobbing noise in the back of his throat. "Then tell us, tell _me, _did your Uncle Mathias rape you?"

"...Yes."

Tino flinched at the answer, and felt his stomach burn with a sort of anger sickness that would weaken if he didn't take it out on something, particularly the perverted bastard that- instead of being one of the few trustworthy people in the world who would've protected his family from this kind of horror- takes advantage of a child's trust and uses it to abuse him and..._rape _him. Taking a shaking breath, Tino controlled any expressive forms of fury in front of his son who, by the way he's weeping like he always does when he's being punished, is already afraid of getting into trouble, despite what Tino had just said moments ago. _He's afraid of Mathias..._

Lukas hung his head and looked at Emil from the corner of his eye, seeing the expression on his face register so much emotions: shock, disgust, heartache, and an underlying hint of empathy. _Maybe I should've approached this like Tino would've..._

"Peter, when did this happen?" Berwald asked in an even, emotionless tone; Tino knew that Berwald was trying to control his expressions of fury as well, but it was obvious by his violently-trembling fists that Berwald, too, wanted to kill Mathias.

Peter sniffled and said, "T-the f-first time was a w-week ago, I think..."

Everyone's eyes widened at the information.

"The first time?" Berwald asked. "You mean, he did this to you more than once?"

"Mm-hm..." Then the sob that he held in his throat finally escaped. He lunged himself into Tino's arms and pressed his face into Tino's shoulder, crying loudly and trembling rather violently.

Lukas looked towards Emil again. "So, what do you believe, now?"

Emil gaped at the emotional breakdown of the youngest nation and shook his head slowly. "Mathias...he...he wouldn't...He's not..." Lukas heard the outright denial, but, almost as if he could read Emil's mind, he could hear the true revelation hitting Emil then and there from the example Peter had to suffer through: _Mathias was going to rape me. _Lukas gently took Emil's hand, making a move to pull him into a hug just as Tino had.

As the entire unraveling of truth happened among the group, as consolation for the victims and anger for the perverted pig inflamed, everyone failed to notice that Berwald quietly slipped from their presence. They were in their own world now, a world that was momentarily safe enough for them to give his son or brother the comfort and safety they needed before going off to hunt down the predator. But it seemed that enacting justice wasn't necessary, as they could hear over Peter's ear-splitting bawling: "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

Everyone snapped their heads up towards the direction of the shout, followed by screaming and protests and what must've been overturned furniture.

"What was that?" Emil yelped in fear.

"Where's Berwald?" Tino said, looking around them.

"Berwald, dude, what the hell?!" Mathias screamed from somewhere in the upper level. "Stop! Agh!" Another sound, what could have been a vase shattering, rang through the hall.

Lukas, Emil, Tino, and Peter looked at each other before sprinting through the halls to where the screaming was coming from. They found themselves at Mathias's bedroom door, standing in the doorway as they watched Berwald straddle Mathias's body, hold his older brother down by his chest, and deliver punch after punch to the Dane's jaw. Once or twice, Berwald's fist connected to Mathias's eye and lips, making those features bruise just as dark as his jawline. The four stood in shock and slight fear; there were very few times- so few that they can count on their fingers- when Berwald exploded like this, when his passive, neutral nature was eaten alive by the animal-like fury that was so destructive that even Mathias would turn tail and run from Berwald's path, if he was able to escape from underneath him and his fist blows.

Mathias gurgled and dribbled blood from the corner of his mouth and spat out a tooth. Seeing the group in the doorway, he shouted, "Lukas! Tino! Emil! Don't just stand there, get this lug off me!" Berwald moved his hand from Mathias's chest to his throat, turning any coherent words into sputtering gasps for air.

There was new kind of silence among the group of nations as the older ones turned over Mathias's plea for help in their heads. They wanted to laugh at him, openly, mockingly laugh at him and watch him get his ass handed over to himself by his younger brother for the abomination he committed- to children, no less- but something felt off. And Tino knew what that "something" was as his eyes flittered to his son beside him. Peter froze where he stood, yet his small body trembled from head to toe; he cringed more and more into his mother's body and his eyes widened and filled with horror.

For that one instant, Tino could see what true child's terror looked like as Peter watched his father unleash this limitless stream of rage unto the brother he loves. Or loved, seeing as how Berwald's eyes were devoid of love- even humanity- as he glared down at Mathias's quickly bruising face and flapping lips that were trying to take in some air.

"P-Papa?" Peter whimpered through chattering teeth, watching his father become a killing monster.

"Berwald, stop!" Tino shrieked. He earned looks of shock and disbelief from Lukas and Emil as he rushed to Berwald and held back his arm before another fist was thrown. He tried to pull Berwald away.

Berwald whipped his head towards Tino, his eyes wild with vengeance. "What the hell do you mean 'stop'?!" he snarled. "Are you suggesting we just let this child rapist go?" He glanced down at Mathias again, catching the look of surprise at the title "child rapist". In a quick second, Berwald snarled and narrowed his eyes, flashing an expression that read, _That's right, we know, you sick bastard!_

"You don't think I want this sonovabitch to pay for what he did to my baby?!" Tino hissed. "I do, but I don't want Peter to be more traumatized than he already is!"

"What?"

"You're scaring Peter!"

Berwald looked up to where stood. Sure enough, his son was latching onto Lukas, quivering against the Norwegian as Lukas wrapped an arm protectively around his shoulders. Berwald frowned apologetically to Peter and slowly rose off his brother, giving him a kick in the ribs before walking away. Tino watched his husband before snapping his eyes back down to Mathias. He bent low to Mathias's bloodied face and bore his teeth in a predatory snarl.

"You are so lucky that Peter is here," Tino hissed. "Otherwise, both Berwald and _I _would've killed you right where you lay." He then straightened up and turned sharply on his heels. He stomped to his son, turned him by his shoulders, and said in a stern but gentle voice, "Come on, Peter, let's go."

Peter looked up at his mother with curiosity. "Go where? Back to bed?"

"To your bedroom, yes, but not to sleep. Come on, we're packing our bags. We're leaving."

"Wait, what?" Mathias shouted as he watched the other Nordics turn to leave. He scrambled to his feet and hurried after them. "What do you mean you're leaving?"

"You honestly believe we're going to stay in the same house as a pedophile?!" Tino laughed humorlessly. Berwald grabbed his arm and shook his heading, signaling to Tino to ignore him and keep moving. Tino complied and continued to guide his son to his bedroom.

"Wait, are you serious? Are you guys seriously going to automatically just believe the brat like that without at least hearing my side first?!" They continued to deliberately ignore Mathias. "And you guys _know _that I'm not some sick, sadistic rapist! What is with you guys?!" He followed Lukas to his room, and watched in panic as Lukas dug his suitcase out of his closet and tossed it onto his bed. "Lukas, come on, why the hell would I fuck a kid when I have a boyfriend, huh?"

"The same reason you would try to do the same thing to his little brother against his will," Lukas droned emotionlessly as he yanked the zipper to the suitcase open, "because you're more disgusting than I thought." He went to the drawers and pulled out stacks after stacks of clothing, placing them in the suitcase with a creepy placidity. "Oh, and it's 'ex-boyfriend,' by the way."

"Lukas, both Emil and I told you that it was just fun joking! Why are you still so hung up on it, huh?!" Mathias's face then momentarily went blank. "Wait, did you just break up with me?"

"I'm so glad you're smart enough to catch on to that so quickly," Lukas said snidely. He placed the last bit of clothing into his suitcase, zipped it, and sat on the bed to pull on his boots. "And I'm still hung up on it because we now know the truth. Quit lying and just accept the fact that your perverted deeds were exposed." He stood up and walked to retrieve his coat.

"Lukas, come on! I'm not a rapist or a pedo!"

"You were when you were a Viking, but now I can see that you haven't really grown out of that phase at all." Lukas yanked his suitcase off his bed and rolled it pass Mathias to get it out the bedroom. Mathias followed after him.

"Lukas!"

"Mathias, shut up." Lukas's voice was cold, colder than usual, which made Mathias freeze stiffly. Lukas looked over his shoulder. "Shut up and be grateful that none of us haven't killed you yet because, trust me, I wanted to. Still want to.

"And be happy that we're just leaving your sorry ass and _never _coming back. Heck, feel lucky that I have stomach talking to you and looking at you at this moment. I think I can speak for us all when I say this: you're lucky that we're civilized and you're a nation who still has citizens that depend on your landmass, otherwise you'd be dead and your land taken. Don't call us, write to us, visit us, or anything of the sort, because I don't think you'll be lucky enough to not be worth the violence anymore, like you aren't right now." Lukas walked towards his brother's room, shouting, "Emil, are you ready to go?"

Mathias puffed his cheeks and clenched his fists at his side, ready to continue his argument and win his guests over again, because it was too soon, too early for things to start falling apart. Things shouldn't be falling apart at all, and he wondered to himself, _Where did I go wrong? _Sighing deeply, Mathias made a decision and ran to his bedroom. He carefully made his way to the bedside table through the scattered pieces of broken vases and lamps Berwald made in his fit of uninhibited rage. He sifted through the dresser's contents until he found what he was looking for: a simple remote controller, small, black, and holding only a button and a switch. He pocketed the device and rushed back out just as the other nations regrouped in the hall and started walking down the stairs. He hurried after them and started his rant again.

"Guys! Guys! Stop! You shouldn't leave! Are you really going to break ties with me because of some lie a kid made up to just cause trouble?"

"No kid would ever make up something so heinous, you pillu!" Tino spat. He stopped to punch Mathias for making such a disgusting claim, but again, Berwald took his arm and shook his head before he went any further. Tino gave Mathias a loathing sneer before agreeing with his husband again. He took up his suitcase and followed everyone to the living room and through the front hall.

"Dudes, I should tell you all right now that leaving would be a really bad idea at this point," Mathias warned. "It's not wise to leave out that door! Lukas!"

Lukas involuntarily hesitated for a moment.

"Norge, please..." Mathias pleaded quietly.

"Mathias, didn't I tell you to shut up, already?"

They all stopped at the doors and waited as Berwald unlocked them.

"Berwald, seriously, don't leave!"

"Fuck you, Mathias," Berwald grumbled as he yanked the door open and led everyone out.

Mathias shrugged and shook his head. "UGH, fine! Then I'll have to do this..." He took out his remote controller and flipped the switch.

When that switched was flipped, the infrared readers at each corner of the mansion was activated, shooting out an invisible line connecting one reader to the next, creating an invisible barrier around the mansion close to the ground. Berwald stomped pass the barrier. There was suddenly a loud buzzing noise and Berwald froze.

"Berwald?" Tino asked. "Berwald, what's wrong-?"

"Aaaaaaaaaaagh!" Berwald screamed. He collapsed on the steps and convulsed violently, every pore of his body glowing an electric blue.

"Berwald!" Tino rushed to his convulsing husband, then collapsed right next to him, screaming and thrashing as his skin sent out blue static.

"Papa! Mama!" Peter lunged forward and reached for his parents, but Lukas grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him back.

"What the hell?" Emil yelped as he watched the two convulsed. He then heard a low chuckle behind them all. He looked over his shoulder to find Mathias grinning cheekily to himself, his head tilted nonchalantly. "Mathias, what is this? Is this your doing?! Stop it!"

Mathias shook his head again and pushed past to get to the couple. He grabbed each one of their ankles and dragged them back into the mansion. Once inside and within the infrared barrier, Tino and Berwald lied still on the carpet, panting and foaming at the mouth. Peter and Emil knelt next to them and checked to see if they were okay. Lukas was the only one staring at the smiling Dane, crossing his arms defiantly.

"What did you do to them?"

Mathias waved a little remote control device, not breaking that grin of his. "You know the great thing about Kiku?" he asked. "He's the type of guy who'll do favors without asking questions, especially if those favors benefit him in some way. He didn't even ask whom I was going to use these Intrabody ShockCollars on or why I wanted to volunteer knowing that I don't have dogs!" He sighed and looked away. "I'm going to have to tell him that they're defective because the shocks are too harsh, but whatever..."

"Intrabody, what?" Tino said weakly as he pushed his torso up from the floor, still too weak from the static attack to stand.

"Intrabody ShockCollars," Mathias repeated. He then hummed in thought. "Um, it's kind of hard to explain, so I'm gonna do my best, okay?" He held his thumb and index finger close together and near his eye, making a really close gap where the pads of his finger and thumb almost touched. "They're these nano-sized robots that course through the veins of those who ingest them. They're activated when the dogs- or, in your case, people- cross the infrared barrier set up around the house's perimeters, sending wave after wave of electromagnetic shock throughout the body.

"It's this new invention Kiku thought up to replace the old shock collar, and it looks like it can paralyze even the biggest Great Danes! Or you guys, if you all stay past the border long enough. Too bad about the stomachache side effects, though..."

Upon hearing the description of the Intrabody ShockCollars, Lukas gasped as a memory occurred to him: "_He looked down at his bowl of ice cream. 'Hey, what's all of this?' He picked up his spoon and prodded the ice cream. Among the dots of chocolate chips were something smaller, almost microscopic; it looked like the black beans of the vanilla bean ice cream"_

_Is that what those things were in that ice cream?_ Lukas wondered. _Those little robots?_

Everyone stared at him. They all wondered to themselves if Mathias was playing another one of his sick, stupid pranks on them as a desperate move to show them that he hasn't changed from the lovable, playful guy they all knew and loved to the sadistic rapist that hurt their younger family members. They considered that maybe, just maybe, the scene that unfolded in front of them all- when Berwald and Tino crumpled to the ground thrashing, twitching, and screaming as their bodies glowed a static cerulean- was their imagination gone awry from so much anger and sleep deprivation. This thing seemed too elaborate for the Dane, and he's only this elaborate when he wants to pull off a complicated joke. Berwald and Tino slowly rose to their feet, keeping their eyes on Mathias as they did so. Berwald still bent with his hands on his knees.

"Mathias, what is this about?" Tino asked warily, wrapping his arms protectively around Peter's shoulders, half-leaning on him for support.

Mathias chuckled. "Oh, it's just a little game I thought up a while ago that I wanted share with you guys, a new and last brother-bonding activity for us all. It's kinda my version of cat and mouse, where I get to chase you guys around the house, and if I manage to get you all, I become King! It's too bad we had to do this earlier than expected, though; I wanted at least another week to spend with my brothers before they die off. Oh well."

"...What the hell?" Emil said in the still silence. "Mathias, are you kidding us or something? What-? WHOA!"

Lukas shot past Emil unexpectedly to tackle Mathias as he talked, to take away the device out of his hands and save them all. Mathias shook his head and clicked his tongue, pointing the remote controller at Lukas and pressing the button below it. They all crumpled to the floor in a seizure and glowed with static electricity hyperactive in their bodies. Mathias pressed the button again, and the convulsion ended leaving the nations to moan and lie still in pain.

"Another great thing about this is that you can use this anytime your pet misbehaves," Mathias chimed. "Especially naughty little kittens that attack too much in one day." He waved the remote controller side to side in-between his finger and thumb playfully. "Now, to the rules of this awesome-ass game my cool brain thought up. They're pretty simple really; the basics are that you run and hide and maybe even fight if you truly want to live. If any one of you live until this week is up, you guys win and can leave freely if you want to.

"Now the more complicated stuff: No helping each other out, or you get a nice visit from Mister Shocky here." He glanced at Peter's body. "Well...I guess Peter can stick with his mommy since the brat's so pitifully weak. Yeah, he's the exception to the rule. No hiding in one spot for more than ten hours, and I'd know, okay? I have that sense in me to know! No sticking in groups because that's just unfair to me and will just earn you another shock treatment. You can use weapons to make this more interesting for me, although I seriously doubt that you guys can win this, weapons or no. Oh, and no outside calls~! Keh heh heh heh!"

"W-wait!" Emil spoke out, lifting his head to look at Mathias. "You shot my ankle! How the hell do you expect me to be a part of this stupid game of yours if I can barely run?"

Mathias shrugged. "I had to even the chances for you all. It wouldn't be fair to the others if you had such a huge advantage at your disposal, now would it?"

"But...But..."

"Chillax, Emil, you can still jog; why else do you think I made the shots as shallow as possible? Anyhoo, to recap here: hiding-yes, weapons-yes, running-yes, fighting-yes, helping-no, unless it's Peter, hiding for over ten hours-no, group work-no, and the survivor living past the week- at 12:00 AM seven days from now on my time- will walk out a free man." He glanced at his watch. "Since I'm so nice, I'm gonna give you guys ten minutes to start running, a decent head start if I do say so myself."

Although the other Nordics were trying to stand on their own feet after the electrical shock in their bodies, they still felt weak and dizzy from such an ordeal, and were only able to rise as far as on their hands and knees, panting to settle their burning stomachs and lungs.

"...Nine minutes and thirty seconds~!"

They still knelt in their position, making Mathias glower at them in disapproval. He made an impatient groan in the back of his throat and tapped the button on the remote again, giving his guests a quick motivational boost before shutting it off again.

"Nine minutes," he drawled darkly. "Now get moving."

Despite feeling sick and exhausted from suffering consecutive electrical shocks in under five minutes, they all tapped into some reserve of strength, stood on their feet, and gave each other and Mathias looks before taking off into the dark caverns of the mansion.

Mathias stood with his hands behind his back and hummed pleasantly, waiting for the time limit to end. When the remaining nine minutes came to an end, Mathias took off after them.

* * *

About time we got to this! XD Anyway, I don't really know much about electromagnetic energy, but when I looked it up, it's said to be used to create telecommunication and heat, so I'm going with that as accurately as I can and use that information for the trap Mathias laid on them. Sorry to any technology (or whatever it is) fanatics out there.


	12. The Doe

Urghle-smurghle! I missed another self-appointed deadline! I'm sorry! Really, I am! I've been too distracted by toying with my apps on my laptop and I kind of spent most of my time just making stuff. *sigh* I need to increase my concentration span. ;-;

* * *

Despite the internal injuries their bodies suffered from the electromagnetic shock, and the numbness that came afterwards, Tino and Peter pushed their weakened legs to their limits and beyond to get away from the madman that was chasing them. Tino ran in front of Peter, pulling him by the wrist to lead him through the lower level to the stairs; sometime during the run, Tino and Berwald exchanged a sad, apologetic goodbye from the corner of their eyes before they split up, Berwald taking a different direction towards the wine cellars.

"Mama! Mama, what's going on?" Peter panted besides Tino, looking over his shoulder. "Where's Papa? Why is Uncle Mathias acting like this?!"

"Peter, this is not the time for questions!" Tino panted hurriedly. _But I do hope Berwald will be okay,_ he thought afterwards. _Please stay safe, honey!_

"But Mama-" Peter looked over his shoulder again and gasped. "Mama! He's coming!"

"I know, baby, just stay calm!" Tino said without looking back. He knew that Mathias had just appeared up the stairs and was coming up quickly behind them, closing the distance between himself and the two nations with every second that passed. Such a fact made Tino's heart race and the image of his son, his baby, brutally tortured and murdered in any fashion that Mathias willed made his stomach lurch with fear, but he couldn't let his mind go crazy now, not with Peter still with him. He needed to keep his mind collected in order to protect Peter and hide them both properly and survive Mathias's twisted "game".

Behind Tino and Peter, Mathias charged ahead and followed them as they ran through the upstairs hall. He would've went after Berwald- seeing as how the guy pretty much cornered himself in the wine cellar- and taken down what he knew was going to be his toughest prey, or even went after Emil with the kid's disabled leg making the chase easier, but there was just something so fascinating about chasing a mother protecting his young. Plus, the mere thought of Berwald's face when he finds his husband and kid as nothing more than mere violated corpses (if he survives long enough to see it) was delicious enough for Mathias to try Tino first.

Mathias watched Tino as the nation dragged the child through the hall. Tino made a quick turn around the corner and almost made Peter trip over his own feet. Tino gripped Peter's wrist tighter and yanked him upright. He then paused, whipped his head from side to side. _Probably looking for a room to hide in, _Mathias guessed as he became closer and closer to the still pair.

His guess was right. When Tino noticed that Mathias was but a few feet away, he ran to the closest room there was and slammed the door. Mathias shook his head and chuckled as he reached the door and tried the doorknob, twisting it like he saw killers do in horror movies to freak out their victims.

Inside the room, Tino pressed his body against the door and dug his heels into the carpet, taking panicking breaths as the doorknob shook vigorously. _Oh, Lord. OhLordohLordohLordohLordohLo rdohLord, oh my goodness, this isn't happening! _Tino thought. _Please let this be a joke! Mathias wouldn't do this to us!_

"Mama, what now?" Peter asked, his voice quivering as hard as his knees.

"I don't know, Peter, I don't know!" Tino replied. He looked up at his son and he felt his heart break once more at the strong sense of fear emanated from the small body.

_SLAM!_

"Eek!" Tino yelped as the Dane slammed himself into the door. He pushed against it and gritted his teeth as Peter screamed and cowered further away into the opposite wall. "No! Stop!"

_SLAM! _

"Mama!" Peter cried.

"Peter, just stay there!"

_SLAM!_

"Mama, he's going to get in!"

"Peter, go and hide-!"

With the final slam, Tino flung forward and just missed crashing into Peter as Mathias barged in through the door, his shoulders hunched in a menacing stature. When Tino quickly shoved Peter behind him, Mathias tilted his head in mock admiration and smiled at the motherly protection.

"Mama..."

"Peter, calm down," Tino said in a hushed voice.

"Mama, he's here!"

"I know, Peter!" Tino hissed over his shoulder. "Just don't panic!"

"But the kid has a right to be afraid, doesn't he?" Mathias asked.

Tino turned his attention back to Mathias and scrunched his face in a defensive glower. He bent slightly forward with one hand held up in a fist and the other behind him, his palm instinctively pressed onto Peter's chest; it seemed as if Tino was ready to either fight for Peter to live, or run with him and hide him in safety.

Mathias snickered and crept closer, He wasn't going to allow either to happen.

"Mama!" Peter cried as Mathias took a step. He whimpered more and more the closer Mathias came, latching onto his mother's arm as Tino backed away. When Mathias's arrogantly cold eyes flickered to the child, Peter sobbed and nearly squeezed the blood out of Tino's arm.

Mathias shook his head and clicked his tongue. In a dark yet even purr, so emotionless and smooth that Tino's spine shuddered, "I have no clue which one of you to fuck and kill first: you because you're so damn hot, or Peter so I can shut him the hell up."

Tino's glower deepened with absolute disgust at what he just heard. He took a quick look over his shoulder again to look at Peter and bit his lip at the sight of his son's face glistening and soaked with tears and sweat. He then returned his glare at Mathias and sighed. _If it could buy Peter some time to run and hide..._

"Peter, go."

"What?!" Peter gasped.

Tino turned slightly and began pushing Peter away. "I said go, Peter!"

"But Mama, I don't want to be alone!"

"Neither do I, but you have to run, now _go!"_

"Mama-!"

"GO!" With a large, forceful push, Tino moved Peter away. Peter looked back at his mother, begging with his tearful eyes to let him stay and not be separated, before he finally resigned and reluctantly sprinted out the door.

Mathias watched the boy leave and gave Tino a coy grin. "Well, that settles it for me, then." He shrugged. "Looks like it's just you and me. Which is good I guess; I really can't perform at my best with others in the room watching me, especially a kid."

"Shut the hell up!" Tino spat. "Stop it with your disgusting shit, you twisted bastard! Stop this while you still have a chance to redeem yourself! Please!"

"'Redeem myself?' Really? So after everything you all said about how I'm a sick pedophile and that you guys don't even want to be in the same house with me or want to see me ever again, if I do just enough begging and pleading and groveling at your feet, you all will forgive me and forget this entire fiasco?" Mathias caught Tino's lips twitch at the corner in faltering agreement and threw his head back in barking laughter.

"Of course you wouldn't, you lying ass! Hm, but it wouldn't matter if it was the truth or not, anyway, because I wouldn't even shed a damn tear for you guys, let alone grovel on the ground and whimper for forgiveness while you all each take a turn in kicking me like a dog; it would seriously ruin the plans I formulated and waited for MONTHS to enact."

Upon hearing Mathias's condescending remark, Tino took in a shaky breath and nodded. "F-fine, then. There's no other way around this, so..." He widened his stance and pressed his feet firmly into the floor, balling his fists up in front of him.

Mathias's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Seeing Tino take on a fighting stance with so much resolve was a bit of a surprise- albeit a pleasant one- for the man who knew Tino as nothing more than a helpless flower despite his citizens' history of military prowess. If he didn't have a gun in his hand, Tino would usually just turn to Berwald for protection or try reasoning with his opponent (just as he did moments ago).

_I guess it must be the circumstance he's in, _Mathias guessed. _Looks like he's not as timid as he seems when he has to protect his baby. _As he appreciated Tino in a new light, Mathias stepped closer and closer to Tino, his fists raised as well.

_Oh, Berwald, _Tino thought as he kept his glare fixed on the Dane, _if I don't make it, please stay alive, for yourself and Peter. Please keep him safe..._

"You know they're both gonna die, right~?" Mathias teased as if he read Tino's silent plea.

That pushed him. Tino lunged at Mathias and swung fist after fist targeted at his jaw, all of them Mathias easily dodged. _Okay, new note, _Mathias thought as he flinched backward from another blow_, Tino's totally unfocused when angered. Maybe he won't be a problem. _When Tino attempted a roundhouse kick to the ribs, Mathias caught his leg by the calf, twisted it to the point that the knee started to pop, and smiled as he relished the pained whimpers coming from the Finn's throat. Tino tried to shake his leg free, which made the pain worse, so he jumped on his other foot, twisted in the air, and slammed the heel of his free foot into Mathias's jaw. That caused Mathias to let go of Tino's leg and they both fell to the ground.

_Wow, that actually worked? _Tino wondered in surprise as he stood up. When he stood up straight, the small tingle from his knee intensified to near-crippling pain. He almost fell to the ground and cried out in agony, but he didn't want his opponent to see how much damage he made with that one ankle twist, so he caught himself and bore the injury with a mere wince.

Mathias rose from the ground, rubbing his bruised and purpling cheek and glaring down at Tino with intense malice. Despite his injury, though, he still chuckled. "Man, I don't know how much more beatings my poor beautiful face can take in one night. I sure do hope I can stay pretty long enough for my little kitten. Heh heh heh!"

Tino snarled softly as he shifted more weight from his stinging knee to his good leg without making it noticeable.

"Ah, Tino," Mathias pouted, "Just because we're fighting, doesn't mean you have to force yourself to not laugh at my jokes."

"Oh, ha ha, your damn sick jokes are so fucking funny, I'm absolutely _dying _here!" Tino sneered back.

"Oh, good, then everything's working out perfectly for me!" Mathias cheered. He threw a punch that landed straight into Tino's nose. The impact was so forceful that Tino's head flung back and he lost his footing. He stumbled backward for a moment before he regained his balance. The look of terror and shock on Tino's face, now with a streak of red running from his nostrils to his lip, had Mathias bellowing in wild laughter. Mathias swung his fists again, but none of them landed as Tino dodged and flinched to avoid being hit again. Mathias even noticed that Tino was backing away bit by bit and was stepping to the side whenever the opportunity arose. Mathias pretended to move by stomping his foot forward and Tino's arms instinctively flew up to protect his face.

This made Mathias giggle inwardly. _Well, well, well, looks like the timid little fighter is back. _He threw another punch. Tino caught his wrist, twisted it, and pulled Mathias towards him. He flung Mathias back and kicked him in the gut for added measure. Tino then put up his fist, but Mathias knew that that was just for show. This was proven true as Mathias lunged at him and Tino sidestepped and moved further away to increase the distance between them. He lunged at Tino again, but Tino shot his leg up, the one with the injured knee, and planted his foot into Mathias's chest. They both cried out from the hit, but Mathias was the only one who noticed how strange it was that they both did so when it was only _he _that was hit.

Mathias raised an eyebrow. _Unless..._

Mathias again lunged for Tino. Instead of trying to attack him, though, he simply scurried and jumped around him, making him move away to avoid what he thought was another attack. Mathias observed every part of Tino's body as he manipulated Tino, seeing that something was off about him and the way he moved; he could sense that Tino was hiding something. His eyes wandered to Tino's legs when he remembered that Tino had cried out in pain when he did that kick. Sure enough, Tino was hobbling about, and one leg seemed to be more bent, as if he was putting more weigh on it and taking less off the straighter leg. _Wow, that's the second limb I disabled in under a month! _Mathias thought giddily. _Sweet!_

_What is he doing? _Tino wondered in a panic. _Isn't he going to attack? Is he toying with me? Damn him! _Frustrated by the perceived taunting, Tino stopped weaving side to side and faced Mathias head on, ready to fight him while he played around. But he wasn't prepared for Mathias to switch tactics so quickly, so he didn't dodge Mathias as he made a sharp kick right into the bad knee.

"Aaaagh!" Tino screeched and fell back against an end table as his limb burned from the inside out. Mathias grabbed him by the collar and front of his pajama shirt and hefted him high above the ground. He flung Tino to the bedside table, where Tino's body smashed the furniture piece flat. Tino wrapped his arms around his torso and writhed from the impact. When he saw Mathias approaching, he took up a table lamp that fell from the bedside table and swung it at Mathias, who easily knocked it out of Tino's grasp with the back of his hand. Tino tried to cower away from Mathias as far as possible and whimpered as he backed into the wall.

Mathias clicked his tongue and shook his head. "Boy, are you so pathetic!" he sneered as he grabbed Tino's injured leg by the ankle again and dragged him closer. He held Tino up, making him dangle upside-down. "I mean, yeah, I knew that you weren't going to be as strong as Berwald and hold out as long as I know he would, but I was really hoping that you'd hold out longer than this, man! What a disappointment, bro..."

"Let me go!" Tino cried. He swung his fists at Mathias.

Mathias playfully swung him from side to side before dropping him on the floor, pressing his foot on Tino's back so he couldn't get away. "Sorry, no can do, because _that _would be _so unfair_ to the others!"

Tino clawed into the carpet to crawl away and escape. "Let me go! Get your dirty feet off of me!"

"Hm, okay." Mathias removed his foot, but didn't let Tino go. Instead, he squatted over Tino, pulling him closer underneath him so he can straddle his hips from behind. Tino began to struggle under the weight. "Still, it would've been cool to fight you a bit longer, but beggars can't be choosers, now can we?"

Tino pushed up against the beneath him. "Mathias, stop this now!" He then added softly through clenched teeth, "Please...!" When Tino felt his shirt sliding up on his back, he started to wriggle under Mathias more and more in a panicked fit. "No!"

Mathias ran the tip of his finger inside the smooth curve of Tino's spine. "You know, I haven't noticed until now that you have really nice skin, so soft and creamy smooth. I can see why Berwald wanted to fuck you so much, Tino. I think I'm getting hard, myself." He lowered his lips to Tino's ear and breathed, "Or maybe it's the way you keep grinding against my dick like that when you struggle."

"No!"

Tino threw his head back into Mathias's face and jabbed his elbow into Mathias as hard as he can. When Mathias reared back in pain and surprise, Tino clawed at the carpet again to get away. Angered, Mathias grabbed Tino by his collar, pulled Tino back under him, and grabbed a handful of Tino's hair, slamming his head into the floor. Tino cried out in pain into the carpet.

"Fuck! Okay, that's long enough!" Mathias yelled. He reached under Tino, grabbed each side of his pajama shirt, and ripped it open under him. He pulled the shirt back over Tino's arms until it gathered tightly around Tino's wrists. He rose up and raised Tino's hips up and aligned it with his own pelvis.

Tears and snot dribbled down the side of Tino's flushed face. "P-please, Mathias, don't! Don't turn into this," Tino pleaded as Mathias pulled his pajama bottoms and underwear down to his knees.

Mathias gazed at the exposed buttocks with a hungry glower. He slid the waistline of his own pants down underneath his hardened genitals and took his tip between his fingers. "First up: Finland," Mathias stated matter-of-factly as he guided himself inside.

Tino gasped and looked over his shoulder at Mathias's actions with wild eyes. "No! No! No! _Nooo!_"


	13. The Buck

Berwald can't do it anymore. He can't hide anymore; he can't wait around in the dark corners of the basement as his husband and son, his family that he raised, are out there unprotected with that psychotic killer running rampant with nothing but murder on the mind. If Berwald knew anything about Mathias, he knew that even if Mathias had given up his barbaric ways as a Viking, there was still a bit of that bloodthirsty fighter inside him that was merciless towards anyone and everyone if set off, and he can guess that it was steadily grew, feeding off Mathias's sanity until none was left to withhold that demonic nature.

Berwald wanted to kick himself; a while ago, he sensed that something was off, yet definitely familiar, about Mathias's current behavior. He saw the calculating sneer on Mathias's face, as if the man had some secret plan and was playing nice and naïve until the secret can finally come to fruition. Why didn't he mention this to anyone? Why didn't he mention the emotionless glint that Mathias gets in his eyes only when he truly wants to enact some sort of bloody vengeance? It was because of his inability to stop giving out the benefit of the doubt, the hope that maybe they all have recovered from such a way of living and have moved on to a more civilized and moral lifestyle. Maybe he shouldn't have expected progress from a man who could turn from docile and goofy to raging and violent in one swift second (quicker if he had some alcohol in his system) even if a majority of his citizens have progressed.

_I should've killed him when I had the chance..._

He ground his teeth into each other as pained screaming echoed so loudly that it seemed to shake the entire mansion. Or maybe it shook Berwald, with his recognizing the voice that cried out in torment. He didn't know which was worse: knowing that if he addressed his suspicions earlier he probably could've put a stop to this before it started, or the fact that no matter how much every cell in his body wanted to run upstairs and fight Mathias to save his husband he remained squatting in the basement, hiding in the dark so that he doesn't have to face the torture of those damned microscopic Mathias snuck down their throats. Berwald kicked himself mentally over and over again; how could such little toys that he couldn't even see cause him so much fear at the fiery electrical currents they produced? Hadn't he suffered worse? Maybe it was the way that Mathias had control of those little robots and, overall their entire bodies, that filled Berwald with too much fear to act out on his protective urge...

"No," Berwald hissed to himself, shaking his head so rapidly that his glasses almost slipped off. He needed to stop analyzing; analyzing every single detail of the situation meant that he was getting ready to panic, and he can't panic, not now, not when he has to participate in this psychotic game in order to survive and make a tremendous effort to not go sprinting towards his screaming husband, both wearing away at his mental health and making him nauseous.

"No, don't!" Berwald heard Tino cry. He clenched his jaw and his fists. _I can't go..._

"Stop, please!"

"Oh, shut the hell up, already!" Mathias...panted? Berwald scrunched his eyebrows together. _Why is Mathias panting...?_

"Get off of me! No!"

"Shut up, I'm almost finished!"

_Is he...?! Oh, God, no!_

"_No, please, stop!_"

_I can't go up there, _Berwald said as his body involuntarily charged forward and through the doors of the basement. _I can't go up there. He'll just kill us both._

His mind repeatedly told him to not go upstairs because that'll just make everything worse; Mathias will set off that shock collar thing and then what? Both Berwald and Tino with be tortured by the tool, paralyzing Berwald so much that he could do no more than lie there and watch his husband be both raped and electrocuted until they both die, with only the hope that Lukas and Emil can stay alive and protect Peter.

But there has to be a chance, a slight chance that he can fight Mathias and beat him and save them all.

That chance was what Berwald held on to as he neared the bedroom that held Tino and Mathias. "Tino!" Berwald shouted as he halted at the door and glared.

Standing in the center of the bedroom was Mathias, his back towards the door and Berwald. He jumped at the sudden scream and turned around to face Berwald. Mathias was holding Tino in a headlock inches above the floor with a hand holding onto his chin. Harsh grunting and whining came from Tino's throat as it strained against the limb wrapped tightly around it. Tino dangled and wriggle in Mathias's grasp like a newly-caught fish hanging from a line. Both of their faces were flushed and sweaty as if they were exhausted from doing strenuous exercise, but Mathias's face had that glow that only showed after he had sex. Tino's pajama pants and underwear were pulled down to his knees, and a creamy pink substance, blood and semen, stained his bruising thighs.

"Tino!" Berwald cried out.

"Ugh, hey, what're you doing here?!" Mathias growled as he readjusted Tino's neck in his arm. "Weren't my rules clear enough?! No one comes to anyone's rescue! God, what cheaters you are!"

Berwald hardened his glare at Mathias. "Mathias, put down Tino _now!_"

"B-Berwald! Berwald, go!" Tino gasped. "Leave and s-save yourself! Ack! Save Peter!"

"No! I'm going to kill this bastard!" Berwald said, his glaring eyes still fixed on his brother.

"Uh, hello?" Mathias said. "Don't ignore me, here! You know, the guy who has the remote control that can mean slow, painful deaths for you both?" He scoffed. "Whatever, I'm done with this one, anyway, and you coming in to interrupt just made finding you much easier for me."

"Berwald, go!" Tino shrieked in panic. "Go _now! _Don't worry about me and_ just go!_"

Mathias nuzzled his nose into Tino's hair and smirked into it as he saw Berwald visibly shake with rage. "You know, as I fucked the literal shit out of this little guy, I was able to see what drew you to him," he purred. "Got a nice piece of ass here, y'know, all tight and warm and stuff? A bit sensitive, but I guess Tino must've been a real trooper to be able to handle your massive cock inside him, eh?"

"Mathias, let Tino go, now, you sick fuck or I'll kill you!"

"Didn't I say that I was finished with him? Calm your damn dick, bro!" Mathias tensed the muscles in his arms, quickly sliding his arm and hand into position. "Look, I'll show you!"

"Berwald-!"

_Snap._

With a swift jerk of his arms, Mathias twisted Tino's head around in a fatal angle, snapping the spinal cord in Tino's neck and causing Tino's face to completely align with his back.

Time seemed to slow for Berwald even as Tino's death happened so quickly. He watched with widened, horrified eyes as his husband's body limply crumbled to the ground at his brother's feet. Berwald could hear his heart beating in his ears as Tino's beautiful, once-jovial and optimistic face was nothing more than a forever-still mask molded into an expression of both terror and eerie calm. Berwald's vision started to swim blood red as he took a step closer to Tino's corpse, weakly holding a hand up to reach for him, soft whimpering escaping his quivering lips.

"T-Tino..."

Mathias held his hands up innocently. "See?" He grinned. "Done!"

Berwald twitched, inhaling deeply through his mouth. A moment later, he howled. He howled to the walls surrounding them in grief and fury as he stampeded to Mathias, bent low to tackle him by the lower half.

Mathias chuckled lowly. _Usually goes for lower body, especially hips, and uses brute force. _He matched Berwald's stance just as Berwald came into contact with him, making the two attack each other head to head like bucks pushing their horns at each other. Mathias chuckled some more, enjoying the violent side of Berwald now that he was able to at least fight him on equal grounds instead of cowering underneath him, waiting for Berwald to finish punching his jaw into fine dust.

This fight was turning into a stalemate, with both men grappling each other and trying to use force to push the other to the ground. They were both bruising each other's shoulders with their fierce grips, but neither were willing to breaking their concentration for a simple bruise. Bored with the lack of variety in this match, Mathias decided to change things up by slamming his forehead into Berwald's forehead. The impact caused Berwald to flinch back in pain, and that gave Mathias an opportunity to punch Berwald in the ribcage. Berwald doubled over from the pain before forcing himself to stand straight and bear through it as he went after Mathias again. He smashed his fist into Mathias's jaw and wrapped his arms around Mathias's neck into a headlock, intending to deal the same fate Tino had suffered. Mathias quickly caught on to Berwald's idea and reached behind himself for Berwald's shoulder. Grabbing onto the fabric of Berwald's pajama shirt, Mathias jerked forward and yanked Berwald over his back, flipping them both forward to the ground.

The two nations scrambled to their feet with Mathias giggling in the purest delight. There was giddiness fluttering inside him because it has been a long time since he and Berwald fought like this; the little fistfights they shared because they were annoyed with each other or wanted to blow off some testosterone did not compared to the battles they fought each other back then: with merciless hands, inhuman hearts, and intent to kill on the mind, the kind of bloodthirsty hate that Mathias could see glinting in Berwald's cold, blue eyes. There was something so exciting about seeing those eyes void of humanity, dark even though the color was as bright as a summer's day. But Mathias knew that he could be pushed a bit further.

As the two crashed into each other, punching each other in every area they left unprotected, Mathias pored through his mental vault of insults, little quips and teasing he made that were left unused during their battles against each other. None of them were any good, though. They had too much "lighthearted" humor in them to truly burrow deep in the Swede's skin. Not even the good, harsh, homophobic insults he made when he learned of Berwald's sexual orientation were too useless to bring out the real monster in Berwald (and it seemed too stupid to use anyhow, what with Mathias fucking Lukas before he was even willing to admitted that he was attracted to men as well) and he wanted that beast out. That beast made everything fun.

Realizing that he was going to have to come up with something good on the spot, Mathias stopped sifting through his list of insults and started to think of things about Berwald that he could use, something that would be enough to push him over the edge. Berwald swung his fists at Mathias, causing Mathias to duck and weave from side to side. As Mathias ducked from another of Berwald's blow, he shot his head upward into Berwald's chin. The glasses flew off from Berwald's nose and a bottom tooth dropped from Berwald's mouth. Berwald had blood running from his bottom lip, and he had to squint in order to see, but that didn't make Berwald seem weaker to Mathias. In fact, if it wasn't for the fun he already had with Tino, Mathias swore he would have had a boner from the way those things made Berwald look more brutish and murderous. That thought made Mathias lose focus, which allowed Berwald to smash his fist into Mathias's face. Mathias stumbled backwards, covering his bleeding nose with his hand. The punch made him dizzy in the head, but when he almost tripped over Tino's corpse, his mind worked quickly enough to finally add insult to injury, something that'll make this fight more fun.

Looking down nonchalantly at the blood pooling the palm of his hand, Mathias snickered. "You know what's funny about this, Berry?"

"Shut the fuck up," Berwald panted, wiping his own blood off his lip and chin. He turned his head and spat out the blood that gathered in his mouth.

"Heh, rude. Anyway, people tend to say that you and I are totally different. Y'know, what with you being so mysterious and quiet that people tend to want to run from you and I being so bold and fun that even those who hate me can't resist my presence, something like a refreshing, bright spring coming after the cold, bitter winter. But having this fight with you, standing here with this blood in my hands that _you _drew, made me realize something. We're more alike than they think. We're both blonde, blue-eyed, tall Scandinavian nations; we'll both kill in cold blood if pushed far enough, and we both raped Tino."

Berwald's eyes snapped up at his brother. "What the _hell _did you say?!"

"What, do you honestly think that I don't know? I mean, come on, how else were you going to get the guy to go to bed with you besides a good ass-pounding against his will? It was obvious Tino didn't want to go with you when you left my ruling, and he sure as hell didn't want to be your bottom-bitch- oh, excuse me, I mean 'husband'. So I'm guessing that you gave it to him bad until he was so mentally warped from the torture that he _had _to change his mind about you, seeing as how he had no other choice but to stay with the monster that had control over him or just go back to the other monster that reigned over him. Gotta give you props for being able to brainwash him long enough to make him stay with you, but it isn't love, little bro; no one can tolerate your freakish appearance long enough to feel that for you."

Mathias playfully bounced on his toes and swung his arms. "They don't call it _Stockholm _Syndrome for nothing~..."

Berwald's heart stopped. At first Berwald stood still, bent slightly from exhaustion that started to set in once the two had paused the fight between them. His breath held in his lungs, and his eyes stretched wide in disbelief. His breathing started again in only slow intervals, building up in a heavier amount and a quicker pace until it almost seemed like he was going to hyperventilate and break down in tears.

"_I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU!_"

Berwald came at him like an angry bull, grappling Mathias at the hips. Berwald picked him up high and slammed him down onto the floor, and climbed on top of him. After one fierce punch to the jaw, Mathias put both of his arms up to block any more that came his way. Blinded by rage, it took Berwald a few moments to see that his fists weren't doing any damage, so he yanked up one of Mathias's arm and clamped his teeth into the flesh.

"AAAAAGH! What the flying _fuck?!_" Mathias shook his arm wildly, screaming in shock and pain as he tried to free his arm. There was a hint of laughter in his screaming when he noticed that Berwald's eyes were bloodshot and that even his irises glowed hellishly.

Berwald bit deeper into the flesh, making a small growling noise as the arm shook in his jaw. Berwald wrapped his hand around Mathias's neck and squeezed it, satisfaction growing in his feral mind as he felt Mathias's jugular veins pulse against his palm and fingers. He went further to ensure more damage by digging his fingernails into the throat, the nails slicing into the skin and slowly bringing up some trickles of blood. Mathias frantically fought back by pushing against Berwald's face and kicking his legs. He sputtered and gasped for air as his lungs began to burn. Panicking, Mathias went with punching Berwald right in the bridge of his nose as a last resort before he completely succumbed to the darkness.

The punch did work as Berwald's head flinched back and his grip on both the arm and the neck weakened. Mathias pushed Berwald off and rolled away. When he pushed himself up from the floor, he hissed quietly as a sickeningly hot sting of pain shot through the arm Berwald latched onto. He touched his fingers to the wetness he felt running down his limb; Berwald's teeth broke through the skin and left a somewhat deep gash where the blood poured freely. He cursed under his breath and pressed his palm onto the gash to stop as much bleeding as possible, but his attention towards it was diverted as he heard a wild cry. He looked up just as Berwald charged at him and tackled him at the hips, but instead of falling to the ground again, Mathias steadied his footing and balled his hands tightly together. He slammed his hands into Berwald's back and kneed him in the chest. He pushed Berwald away and swung his fist in a fierce uppercut that made Berwald fly back almost halfway across the room. Mathias looked around and noticed the broken pieces of what used to be a bedside table before Tino fell on it. He dove towards it and picked up a table leg.

When Berwald charged at him again, Mathias swung his table leg like a bat at Berwald's head, making Berwald's head twist to the side with the force. Berwald gave a short cry of agony before turning his piercing glare back at Mathias, giving Mathias a view of the extent of the damage that table leg did. There was a gash that ran upward and diagonally on Berwald's cheek and continued across Berwald's nose, with little, almost unnoticeable pieces of flesh hanging from the cut. Mathias glanced at his weapon, now seeing that the end piece was jagged and had a high sharp point covered with blood. Once more, Berwald charged at Mathias, attempting to attack Mathias. Mathias swung his table leg again. Berwald stopped in his track and bent back from the weapon just as it was going to slice his neck, but Mathias kicked him in the stomach to the floor. He jumped on top of his brother and turned him on his stomach. Before Berwald could fight him off, Mathias stabbed his table leg into the Swede's back.

"AAAAAAAAGH!" Berwald stiffened as the table leg stabbed into his spine. He hyperventilated as Mathias slowly dragged the jagged piece out of his back. Mathias chuckled lowly as his brother's rapid breathing filled his insides, melting him in giddiness. He playfully held the weapon above Berwald's back, moving it up and down to decide which part of the back was going to be next. He then shrugged and just stabbed into the spine at a random spot, making sure to dig it deep into the cord. Berwald twitched under him and released everything that was in his bowels. Mathias got him, he knew that he got Berwald very well, but to be sure and just for the heck of it, Mathias yanked his table leg out and stabbed it higher, right between the shoulder blades.

When Mathias was finished, he stood up and observed his handwork. The back of Berwald's shirt was stained red, and the red grew bigger as more blood gushed out. It soon stained his sides and underneath him. Berwald was limp- paralyzed- but he could still move his eyes. He looked up at his older brother peripherally and sputtered weakly, too weak and sick from what he endured to form coherent speech.

Mathias clicked his tongue as he walked around to Berwald's head and squatted near it. "Wow, that was pretty fun, huh?" he whispered to Berwald, stroking the bangs from Berwald's forehead. "It's been a while since we fought like this. Like what, two, three centuries? I missed that side of you, Berwald, the one that wasn't afraid to fight when the going went tough." He sighed. "And I guess I'm going to have to miss it some more." He then brought his mouth closer to Berwald's head, smiling gently. "You're going to die now, okay? Don't know exactly when, but I'm guessin' maybe twenty, thirty minutes, by the way you're bleeding out? But hey, I'll be nice and make your death as pleasant as possible."

Mathias slid his hands under Berwald's shoulder and began ulling him to Tino, grunting, "I'll hold off on fucking you until you're dead since I already got enough action from Tino, and I'll let you die next to your sweet, beautiful, dead husband, so you can both go off to heaven together with your fluttery little wings and cute little cherubs. And don't worry 'bout Pete, okay? I'll make sure he goes after you guys and meet you up there. You'll have a nice little family reunion!"

"No..."

Mathias shot up and frowned in confusion upon hearing the small, shaky voice, dropping Berwald's top half. He spun around and smiled at Peter standing in the doorway.

"No...!" Peter repeated as his body started to shake. His eyes started to glisten with tears when they met the sight of his mother and father, both unmoving and maliciously tortured as he could tell by the blood all over Berwald's torso and the bruises and blood on Tino; Peter couldn't really tell, but he thought that he could see his mother's head was twisted all the way to the back. This wasn't what he expected when he came running after hearing his father's howls of pain. Everything that he was seeing now made him want to vomit and urinate and just pass out, but all he did was stare and gape at his dead family.

Mathias tilted his head and smiled giddily. "Hey, Petey~!"

"_NO!_" Peter shrieked in such a high-pitched voice that it nearly pierced Mathias's eardrums. He turned on his heels and bolted away.

After a few moments passed, Mathias shook his head and clicked his tongue, going back to moving his brother next to his brother-in-law before they died separately. "I swear, you Oxenstierna family are really making this easy for me!" he laughed before running after Peter.

* * *

Whoa, you guys, I am SO sorry that this is so late! I wanted to finish this chapter and post it, but wow, was coming to this pretty scary, and just when I had enough ovaries to come back to this and continue this, my Internet went AWOL and just disconnected, so I had to wait. (Plus, I did get sidetracked a lot by some pretty funny ask blogs I found on Tumblr. Sorry for letting myself get distracted so much with that.)

Anyway, I'm sorry again, and I hope this makes up for it and the other possible late updates that may come. *bows*


	14. The Fawn

Peter was breathless as he ran. His entire body was still weak from the damage of the nanobots electrocuting every cell in his flesh and blood. His lungs burned for the need of oxygen and rest as he sobbed uncontrollably over the loss of his mother and father, hyperventilated as the panic of possible death pulsated throughout his small body, and panted heavily as his legs pumped rapidly into the ground, pushing him as far from the monster coming after him as they could.

Right behind the child ran Mathias, eagerly giving pursuit as he thought of how easier this game was than he actually thought. Like Peter, Mathias too was sore down to his very bones from fighting two men in one night- with one of them almost killing him- but the possibility of capturing Peter and ending the Oxenstierna family in one go crushed the exhaustion and ache without effort. The boy was small and weak and _oh so slow_ that Mathias figured that much effort wouldn't be needed to kill him. In fact, at the rate this game is progressing, the week won't even be over before Mathias's killed them off and won the game. That thought brought a smile to his lips as Mathias decreased the distance between himself and Peter just as they were getting to the stairs.

Hearing the heavy stomping coming closer behind him, Peter jumped onto the rail of the stairway and slid on it to the lower level. When he reached the landing, he jumped off the railing and quickly glanced up at his uncle with fright prevalent in his eyes before disappearing into the darkness.

"Heh, smart kid," Mathias muttered to himself as he reached the stairs as well. He mimicked Peter's move on the rail and followed the child's path. As he ran blindly into the room, squinting into it to find some hint of movement or a silohuette of a child's body, Mathias felt up and down the wall for the light switch, cursing himself for not bothering to memorize at least the tiny details of his house, and swearing even louder when he remembered the one detail that would have helped him the most at this point. He clapped his hands loudly and the sound-activated lights switched on, allowing Mathias to spot a moving blur just before it disappeared around the corner and into the hallway.

"Run along, little fawn, run along~!" Mathias cooed loudly. He went after Peter again in a half-jog, half-skip pace, switching on the lights in the hall with a quick clap of his hands. Again, his eyes met the sight of the small child running frantically for his life, a view that heightened the predatorial focus and instincts within his mind so much so that he could practically feel some drool moist the corner of his lip, like a lynx preparing to taste the deliciousness of young fawn flesh.

"Leave me alone!" Peter cried over his shoulder. He stopped running when he noticed the doors aligning the walls of the hallway and yanked open the one closest to him. He shut it behind himself, locked it, and looked around, finding that he ran into the recreation room, occupied by a couple of pool tables, a flat screen television mounted high above a hockey table, a flashy-looking sound system, a couch in the center, and many arcade games placed along the wall like a fence for the play space.

Peter went to one of the arcade games standing along the opposite wall, pushed against the back to move it forward as Mathias shook the doorknob- his heart rapidly beating in a frightened frenzy as the machine moved too slowly for his comfort- and hurriedly squeezed himself into the cramped space.

Mathias took a step back from the door and kicked at it, pounding the bottom of his foot near the doorknob until the wood around it splintered. One more kick completely shattered the wood, and the door swung opened and hit the wall with a bang, making Peter jump and hug his knees tight.

_No, no, please, no, _Peter prayed silently. He slowly breathed into the crevice of his knees to calm his nerves in a method that his father showed him- inhale through the nose, hold it in while thinking of an image that is soothing, and exhale through the mouth- but kept his ears alert for the nation lurking within the room with him. The breathing exercises weren't working; with each footstep Mathias made, Peter's heart sped up, pounding against his chest and counteracting any sedation he felt.

Mathias stood in the center of the room in front of the couch, glanced at the many arcade games that stood around the room and shook his head as his eyes lingered on one that looked too out of place from all the others.

"Damn, Peter, you sure are a pretty fast kid," he chuckled. He walked to the pool tables and placed his hands under one of its edges. "You're actually much faster than your pop, dude. Admittedly, I'm kind of surprise that I was able to keep up with you."

Peter stared down in confusion at the ground. He bit his bottom lip and stiffened his shoulders, preparing to stifle his reactions. He must stay hidden for as long as possible; hopefully, long enough to "win" this psychotic game of Mathias's and make it out alive.

"I mean, yeah, I'm here, and you're here, and unless by some miracle you manage to get by me and escape this room, I'm still coming after you to kill you, but you did give me a good chase. Hell, I think you were pretty much up there with Ice when it comes to running." Mathias squatted slightly and prepared to put the weight on his knees. "Too bad the world's not going to witness such _amazing _speed when I find you..."

Mathias looked at the moved arcade game and tightened his grip on the edge of the pool table. "UNDER HERE!" He lifted the pool table and flipped it over.

Even though Peter had his whole body tensed up to prevent any reactions from giving away his location, he still squeaked and jumped as the pool table crashed to the floor. _Oh, my goodness. Oh, my goodness, please, no! Calm down, okay?!_

Looking down at the upside pool table, Mathias clicked his tongue in mocked disappointment. "Huh, guess I was wrong this time. Anyway, what was I talking about? Oh, that's right!" He went to the next the pool table and prepared to lift that one as well. "You know, I can't quite understand how you are so fast that I barely caught you, yet you couldn't get away from me on that one night a while back..."

Peter gasped and started to shiver. _That night...no..._He jumped again as another crash boomed throughout the room.

Mathias walked around the second flipped pool table and strolled leisurely about, keeping his hands in his pockets and making sure to make as loud of footsteps as possible, keeping his ears opened in the direction of the arcade game that he knew Peter was hiding behind. "I guess the good thing about you being fast is that you make this more fun than I would have ever thought. Guess I should've expected the most fun from the wildest, most imaginative member of the family, especially with the awesome games of hide-and-seek you used to make me play with you...

"Still, can't let you get away, now can I?" Mathias went to an arcade game far off from where Peter was and placed his hands behind it. "If I did that, then what's the point of creating this whole game to begin with, right? I'm in it to _win _it, kiddo!"

_Why is he saying all of this? _Peter wondered to himself as he stiffened himself. He steeled himself just in time to hold in a cry as he heard another bang.

Mathias merrily jumped over the facedown game and went to the next one. "It is kind of too bad that I have to kill ya off as soon as I find you. Now that I think about it, it would be cool to let you run off so I can chase you some more, wouldn't it? Gives us more one-on-one uncle and nephew time together before I never see you again. Maybe I would've been able to teach you some more lessons to learn, ah, 'the hard way'. Ha ha!" He pushed the second arcade game down.

Peter gasped in surprise and hugged his knees to his chest. He closed his eyes and tried Berwald's breathing method again, this time breathing faster and faster as the footsteps crept closer. When it was getting worse, Peter pressed his hands onto his mouth to block the heavy breathing noises.

Even though it was muffled, Mathias could still here the boy's hyperventilation starting up. As he picked another arcade game that was closer to where Peter hid, he was able to clearly see a corner of the boy's pajama shirt spread out on the floor in open view. It was another clue that showed Mathias where Peter was, though at this point he really didn't need it. "You know, you really took to heart the lesson I taught you that night. I've never seen a kid so quiet before in my entire existence, and I've lived through both Norge's and Ice's childhoods!

"I didn't really want to have to do that to you so early- you know, before the whole chase started because I wanted to save your body for later- but you kind of forced me to play my hand back there." Mathias chuckled and kicked at the bottom corner of the arcade game with his toed. "And now I'm pretty glad that I went on ahead with the rape. I got to discipline you when your mom and dad failed to do so, instead letting you become a loud-mouth brat that ran on too much sugar and too little structure.

Mathias licked his lips as he reminisced. "...Heh, and I got a little taste of how delicious a young, beautiful body can be, so there's another good reason why I did that. Can't wait for another bite."

Peter didn't want to know what he meant by all of this; he wasn't quite sure why his uncle was making his body seem like some kind of treat to be eaten, but he knew that if this recollecting the night that Mathias raped him was anything to go by, all this talk of "delicious body" and "another bite" were implications that shook Peter to his very frightened core.

"N-n-no..." Peter sobbed softly. His knees shook together violently as his hands gripped his head to stop the pounding in his head. His stomach wrenched and twisted in a sickening and painful knot. "Not again..." He could feel his bladder getting ready to burst as yet another crashing sound, followed by the vibrations underneath him as whatever Mathias was doing caused the floor to shake. _What is he _doing_?!_

When Mathias decided that he was finished keeping Peter in suspense, he quietly made his way over to the machine that the boy hid behind and leaned against the wall beside he. He folded his arms and watched Peter completely lose his composure: squatting in the dark, gripping his head in his hands, hyperventilating and snivelling with tears and snot streaking his face. He waited patiently to see how long it would take Peter to notice him standing right next to him; it wasn't as fun to grab his prey if it's just sitting there as it was when it's running away and making it more challenging.

Peter pressed his face into his knees, slowly slouching forward as he began to feel lightheaded from his panicking episode. _Oh, my God, I'm going to die...He's going to get me...Why is he doing this to us? What did we do? Was it because I told them by accident? I didn't mean to- wait..._ Beyond his heavy panting, Peter heard light tapping close to him. _What is that?_

Peter peeked from between his knees. Close by, a large sock-covered foot was tapping on the hardwood floor. Peter's gaze followed the foot upward to the red plaid pajama pants, large, toned arms folded over a blood-stained tee shirt, and sky-blue eyes staring back down at him with the slightest hint of impatience.

The corner of Mathias's lips turned up in a bored expression. " 'Sup?"

Peter gasped and screamed as he turned away and tried to escape through the other side of the game. Mathias quickly grabbed Peter by the collar of his shirt and pulled him closer and from behind the arcade game. As Peter wriggled his body and yanked at his collar to free it from Mathias's fingers, Mathias used his other hand to grip Peter's throat and hold him high, laughing inwardly at how light the child was. Peter dangled in the air, digging his fingernails into the flesh of the hand as it squeezed his windpipe. Mathias brought his other hand up to the slender neck along with the first one, causing the windpipe to close tighter and tighter until Peter was sure that he was going to die soon. Peter's tears and drool ran down to Mathias's hands.

As he looked up at Peter, Mathias tilted his head in mock interest. There was an empty, immoral sense in the way Mathias grinned softly as he contemplated silently.

_Hm, I wonder if I should go for it tonight? I mean, I did just have some fun with Tino and I am pretty beat. But damn, this kid is so cute and fiesty! Should I just kill him and save his body for tomorrow? Naw, I'm doing that with Berwald. Maybe..._

"Well," he purred, finally breaking his silence. "This ended pretty quickly for you, huh?"

Peter flapped his lips and sputtered in an attempt to say "no."

Mathias lowered Peter and brought him closer, making the tip of their noses touch just barely. Peter could feel Mathias's warm breath brush his face as he said in a hushed voice, "It was pretty fun while it lasted, kiddo. You were pretty okay." He then took Peter's mouth with his own, sucking in his lips and sloppily licking the palette and teeth with as much passion as he can muster for a child that he barely liked.

Peter wanted to scream. A small whimpering noise rumbled in the back of his throat as he tried to scream for help, tried to protest, tried to _breathe,_ but he couldn't. This kiss was cutting off the last bit of air he could glean, and he could feel his heart rate drop.

In a last effort to save himself, Peter used up the last of his strength to give Mathias a kick to his body.

Maybe the kick was harder than Peter intended, maybe it was where the kick had landed, or maybe it was just the whole unexpectation of it all, but Mathias would _never _expect someone with a light body, small limbs, and overall incapability to lift anything heavier than twenty pounds to deliver a kick that felt like a steel hammer slamming right into his ribcage. Mathias gasped and doubled over, releasing Peter to wrap his arms around what he was sure were a couple of broken ribs.

Peter crumpled to the ground, lying still and panting heavily as his body started to take in large amounts of air to make up for being cut off. There was a hazy feeling in his head and his vision was nothing but moving blurs, but once his lungs filled with enough oxygen and his blood flow stabilized, the haze in Peter's brain dissappeared, and he was able to think clearly again. _Get out of there! _Pushing himself off the floor, Peter tried to run away on his weak legs. Mathias broke out of his hellish physical torture long enough to remember that he had a kid to catch and reached out to Peter, grabbing him by the ankle and tripping him. Peter screamed in terror and thrashed about to break Mathias's hold on him, kicking Mathias under his chin with his free foot and punching Mathias in his pelvis.

"SON OF A BITCH!" Mathias cried out as a tooth fell out from his mouth. Despite all of the pain pulsating through his body and the tingle of unconsciousness starting because of it, Mathias kept his grip on Peter and moved into a kneeling position. He dragged Peter closer to him, panting and wheezing softly as he hid how much damage his body was suffering. He turned his head away and spat out a thick spittle of blood onto the floor and returned his gaze to the child below him.

A bloody smirk broke across Mathias's face. "Wow, you little snot, you actually put up more of a fight than your old folks _combined, _ha ha!" He grabbed Peter's face and lifted it to his own, hissing menacingly, "You manage to beat the bloody shit out of me without even trying to fight! That's some good ability in you! You would've made a great kid for me..." He then slammed Peter's head back to the floor. "Too bad I fucking _hate _kids."

Peter winced and teared up at the pounding in the back of his head from hitting the floor. His body wanted to pass out from enduring so much pain in one night, but one sight gave him enough strength to stay awake and continue to fight: Mathias struggling to hold Peter down on his chest with one hand and sliding the waistband of his pants with the other, exposing himself for the boy to see.

"NO!"

Peter jerked up from the floor and swung his fist into Mathias's shoulder. That hit was the final attack that Mathias could handle. Mathias fell to the side and cried out in agony, holding his shoulder and cringing as the pain from being hit with steel and fighting two grown men in one entire night finally built up. It was so much that Mathias felt himself slowly fall into unconsciousness, which Peter took advantage of by clambering to his feet and getting away from Mathias with as much speed he could muster. Once out the room, Peter ran faster, letting his body instead of his mind guide him to wherever it took him; his instincts had to take over since his mind raced with so much fear that he was starting to see white light despite having a clear vision of all of the tapestry and furniture he had to dodge.

Peter didn't break his sprint, didn't slow his pace, until his instincts pulled him into what felt like a relatively safe closet. Bursting inside, Peter immediately slammed the door shut, pulled down half of the clothing inside that was large enough to wrap his whole body with from their hangers, and sat huddled on the closet floor, tightening the clothes around him like he used to when he awoke at nights, using the multiple layers as a protective barrier to shelter him until his Mama or Papa came...

He wasn't safe. A part of Peter knew that he wasn't safe, now that a killer was chasing them all and both of Peter's parents were dead, leaving no one to protect him or help him. He knew that he needed to find a better hiding spot than under a large bundle of clothes he found in an obvious closet that they all passed over a dozen times, but it was safe enough to let him calm down.

Peter started to stabalize his breathing rate, pacing his inhalation and exhalation through his nose and out his mouth. When his mind as well as his heart slowed down, he was able to clearly collect his thoughts as they came at him from every part of his mind. His uncle almost raped him again. His parents were dead. He was now alone and scared and sick. But he survived the night. He escaped Mathias's clutches and did a damn good job fighting back, so it showed that he wasn't weak like everyone said.

Peter started to cry as he lied on his side. His parents were dead, but he was alive, and can fight back. He had a chance to walk out alive if he could stay hidden from Mathias's sight long enough. From within, Peter felt himself bursting with relief and grief, crying that he was alive and that he had no parents; the parents he loved and who loved him back, who took care of him and told him time and time again that he'll grow up and _maybe _gain independence as a nation, are dead. Along with the fear and loneliness, the low from the overwhelming dose of adrenaline finally took him, and he fell asleep with cheeks soaked with tears.

It was only ten minutes when Mathias passed out, blood still dribbling from the corner of his gaping lips. When he awoke, there was a jolt of fiery pain that went all throughout his head and abdomen. Rubbing his chin, Mathias stood up from where he was lying and went to the door of the recreation room. He leaned on the threshold as his head swam dizzily, unabling him to walk properly. He spat out more blood before continuing on with his walk, slouching through the hall and pass the rooms - pass the closet that Peter was blissfully asleep in- and to the stairs. He climbed them one by one, each step feeling like a cinderblock tied to his leg that filled him with aches and nausea. On the final top level, Mathias continue on to where his hazy mind was sure was a bedroom.

At the doorway, Mathias took a moment to rest. He came all the way up the stairs before his body even started to recover from the strong blows Mathias never expected from someone as small of a micronation as Peter, making his exhausted and half-conscious mind crave rest; he couldn't remember what possessed him to climb the steps in his condition other than the possibility of a bed to sleep in. He was about to go to the bed to lay his weary body on when he spotted something on the floor within the darkness.

Two bodies in a slowly-growing pool of blood, lying side by side like lovers, both unmoving and silent and staring at each other. His eyes settled on the taller one, Berwald, and all exhaustion he felt instantly vanished. Straightening up as if torso wasn't suffering from internal damage, Mathias stomped over to his younger brother and knelt beside him. He pressed his index and middle finger onto Berwald's jugular just below the jaw. After feeling a couple of pulses- very weak and slow thumps that showed that Berwald was still alive, albeit he was barely alive and was dying slower than Mathias expected- Mathias roughly turned Berwald onto his stomach, grunting in fury at his failure as he worked on undressing his little brother and let his anger harden him in his pelvis.

"Hey, Berwald, you would _not _believe who I just ran into!" Mathias hissed in Berwald's ear as he ripped Berwald's shirt in half down the back, exposing the many stab wounds to the cool room air. "That little brat of yours, Peter! And when I saw him, I thought to myself, 'well, gee, how fun would it be to play with my little adopted nephew one last time before he goes away to the big guy in the sky with his ma and pa,' y'know, to meet his maker and all that shit, but guess what, Ber-Ber?

"That little fucker got away. Heh, I didn't know the kid was that fast! Luckily, I was able to keep up with him, but do you know what happened after I was getting ready for him? He kicked me! He kicked me and punched me and a_ctually escaped from me! _Can you believe that shit?!" He threaded his fingers into Berwald's hair, yanking it to turn Berwald's face to him and stare into the blues eyes clouding over with death with every passing second. "Of course you can believe it! You and your little hubby over there were probably training him to be this awesome fighter or something. You should be so damn _proud!"_

Mathias smashed his younger brother's face into the carpet, smiling with a bit of deranged satisfaction as the blood splashed. He pulled down Berwald's pajama pants as well as his own. "But not too proud; I'm going to capture that little piece of shit and show him who's the king around here!" He climbed on top of Berwald and stiffened his hips to began penetration, but stopped when something occurred to him. He looked over at Tino, whose lifeless eyes stared back unblinking. Dead or alive, it made Mathias uneasy to have someone watch him fuck when they weren't going to enjoy the sight, so he reached over and turned Tino's head before forcing all of his fury, pain, and embarrassment at being defeated by a child onto Berwald.

"D-damn! And to think I was going to- to save you for tomorrow, too!"

* * *

Aw, shoot, I'm sorry for another late update. I'm really slow with this, and I think it's especially going to get slower now that I pretty much sold my soul to Tumblr. X'D And I'm sorry that this was a poor-quality chapter, too. I wanted to get Peter's "escape" out of the way and I kind of rushed it (plus, I just wanted to update). I haven't and will not give up on this story; it's like another one of my babies! :D A creepy, rape-and-murder sadistic baby...wow...

And thank you all for the reviews! I'm so happy! Yay! \(n_n)/


	15. Soaking In Raging Waters

The water in the bath tub was producing steam; Mathias was able to tell from where he sat.

Stripped of his blood-stain pajamas, Mathias sat in the nude on the toilet, patiently waiting as the bath tub filled with water. He absentmindedly watched the faucet at work, resting his elbows on his knees and holding his chin in his palms. His eyebrows were furrowed together in a fixed scowl.

The little bastard got away.

That was the only thing Mathias's mind focused on. Nothing else could occupy his thoughts for more than five seconds before the recollection of last night got to him. Mathias almost caught Peter, which would've made that the third killing in one night and would've sped up the process of his work. But Peter escaped. Peter kicked him and hit him with that weird strength Mathias never knew the kid had and sprinted off into the darkness. That made Mathias angry.

Turning his eyes towards the floor tiles, Mathias bounced a leg on his toes, jiggling it in pent-up frustration. A small part of his mind started to count out the maroon tiles from the ivory tiles to turn his frustration onto something else because he needed to calm down before he acted out in completely wild rage. He needed to rest and let his body heal a bit; it was bad enough he flew straight into raping Berwald's body right after a "cruel beating" from Peter and woke up with still a lot of pain, going into another brawl if he were to find anyone might just kill him, or at least exhaust him severely. He decided to use the remaining time before the rest moved out of hiding to do some self-treatment.

Mathias stood from his seat and went to the tub. After testing the water's temperature, he shut off the faucet and slowly climbed into the tub. The warmth was already working its wonders as Mathias felt the aches pounding within his flesh and bones ebb away. He lied within the tub's length and leaned back against the tub's edge. With his head resting on a built-in neck cushion on the tub's edge, Mathias's body began to feel weightless as he let himself bouy in the water. He closed his eyes and inhaled, feeling the air he took in through his nostrils fill him from toes to his head, before opening his eyes and looking up at the ceiling. He started to count the psychedelic-looking maroon flowers painted on the ivory ceiling just as he did with the tiles below him when a thought occurred to him.

Peter could've killed him.

Already, Mathias's face scrunched up into a harsh snarl befitting a rabid wolf as he realized how truly fatal the situation that happened between them. If Peter hadn't panic and saw how much true damage a swing of his fist or a kick of his leg did to Mathias, he probably- no, he _would _have went further. He would've made sure that Mathias was truly pulverized in an enactment of revenge for his mother and father, and if he felt the need to save the world from the big, bad Dane forever...

Mathias growled as he slammed his fists into the water, causing a large splash. _I could've fucking died! _He thought. He could've died, all because he underestimated the strength of the child's steel-like limbs by their scrawny appearance. The pit of his stomach churned with self-loathing and disgust at his own miscalculations; his militant strategizing skills were rusty, _too _rusty, if he was able to be taken down by a kid and end up in a life-and-death moment-

_No, not exactly..._ Mathias gazed at the sink from the corner of his eyes. Sitting atop it on a washcloth to prevent it from touching any wet surfaces was the remote control. It was in a pocket of Mathias's pajama pants within reach should he need it...

"GODDAMMIT!" Mathias screeched in the top of his lungs, "SONAVA-FUCKING-BITCH!" He gripped his forehead tightly, feeling his hands shake in fury. In order to survive, Mathias would've needed to go against his own rule he imposed on himself since the day he picked up his first axe: never go for the last resort unless _truly _needed. He hated last resorts. Last resorts were means of giving up on fights and absolutely forfeiting any strength and skills one had in an act of cowardice. If he could, Mathias would have been willing to not use any type of last-minute escape tricks until he found his head on a stake. And yet here he was, imagining himself pressing that button and sending Peter into a submission-inducing shock to save his own ass.

Mathias sighed and ran his wet fingers through his hair, slicking the messy spikes back and taking out some of the blood that dried up there. He looked up at the clock that hung high above the wall facing the foot of the bath tub. _Damn, two-thirty-seven? _He thought in amazement. He looked up at the ceiling as he mentally calculated the hours that passed by.

_I know that fighting Tino and Berwald took around half an hour each, so that's one hour, and giving them a good, hard fuck in the ass took an hour on each of them, so that's two hours, and chasing their son took maybe forty-five minutes...Eh, I'll round that to an hour, and then there was that one hour nap I took after taking Berwald..._

He burned through six hours within the first day, leaving him with four more hours before he had to set off to more work. He picked up a bar of soap, wet it, and began working a lather onto his body to wash off the remaining blood. During his washing, Mathias began to do more planning, mostly firguring out how was he to get pass Peter's monstrous strength and kill him.

Soon, his mind wandered from ways to conquer Peter without suffering serious injuries to Lukas. Just like Peter, Lukas was a special case he had to approach with caution, so he had to make a specially-designed plan to take care of Lukas as well. As Mathias began working the soap onto his legs, he started to remember the day that he had burst through Lukas's bedroom door, frightening his little kitten so much that he could've sworn he saw Lukas piss himself. What was Lukas doing during that day...?

When Mathias finally remembered after some deep memory-searching, he smirked. He now has Lukas taken care of as well as Peter, and when Lukas went down, Emil will twice as likely fall down with him with no one to protect him. Mathias gulped some air to hold and sunk his head under the water's surface.

His plans can wait until he's finish with his four hours of rest and relaxation.

Aaaaaand here's another chapter coming at ya after a long and totally unplanned hiatus. I'm sorry for that and writing this filler/bridge chapter after keeping you guys waiting for so long, and thank you all for sticking with me in this! (And a special thanks to those who contacted me outside of Fanfiction to send me praise for this story, that was so sweet and made me happy! n_n)

I wanted to do this chapter because I was on a creative dry period (okay,soitwasmostlytumblr) but I still wanted to write something to keep me going because I really like doing this story and can't wait to get going with this. And plus, I thought that maybe Mathias could use a good bath after all that bloody fighting and sodomizing...

Anyway, I apologize again! Sorry! And I hope you enjoyed this chapter!


End file.
